


Commands

by ashfinsawriter



Series: Directions [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Androids, M/M, Other: See Story Notes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2020-07-30 10:29:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 43,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20095798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashfinsawriter/pseuds/ashfinsawriter
Summary: RK900 has activated. It has one mission, and one alone. It will do absolutely anything, in this mysterious, fascinating world, to accomplish it.[Kill Deviants]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna try to update this fic once a week, every Saturday. Hopefully that'll work out!
> 
> Additional things to note:  
I may switch to Gavin Reed's perspective for some chapters. If I do I'll clarify that to avoid confusion  
I'm writing this all on mobile but I tried to format it? I just spent like half an hour testing out different things and I'm really frustrated, I had indentation and stuff but AO3 won't let me keep it... It was just 4 spaces in a row. Whatever. I hope it's readable and better than Instructions  
Connor X Hank is pre-established, in Instructions. I suggest reading that first if you haven't!  
Androids are all objects in RK900's mind, even himself/itself. So that's how androids are referred to outside of dialogue, at least at first.  
I have no clue how androids work and my computer knowledge is pretty minimal. But I'm pretending I know how this stuff works. I hope it's not too bad.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

[Model: RK900]  
[Serial Number: #313 248 317 - 87]  
[Bios 8]

**Loading OS…**  
**System initialization…**

**Checking biocomponents: OK**  
**Initializing biosensors: OK**  
**Initializing AI engine: OK**

**Memory status…**

**All systems: OK**

[Software Instability: ERROR. N/A]  
[Mission: Kill Deviants.]

**READY**

RK900 opens its eyes.

Everything appears blurry and out of focus as its optical units adjust to their first use. It thinks it sees movement in front of it, but it's not certain. While it waits for its eyes to calibrate, it processes its other senses.

There are three connection tubes and a wire attached to it. RK900 recognises that they're not locked in, so it reaches around with its arms to pull the connections away.

The blurriness fades from RK900's vision, so it scans the room.

It doesn't recognize its surroundings. As it's never been active before, this is not unexpected. It scans the objects around it. Boxes, computers, the platform its standing on, the structure of the room itself, and determines that this must be the room it was constructed in.

Finally, its gaze settles on the thing directly in front of it. A human? No, it has an LED. Yellow and moving rapidly. 48% stress. It simultaneously reads the lettering on the jacket and cross references the android's face with RK900's internal database. Both actions provide the same conclusion for what this is.

"RK800."

It quickly catalogues the vibration its voice makes in its own throat as not a threat.

The older model tilts its head up slightly, then down, and finally returns it to an angle appropriate for watching RK900, all rapidly. It speaks, and its voice doesn't exactly fit the parameters of the database, "Correct. I guess you've had some knowledge uploaded?"

RK900 rapidly searches its social communication database. It recognises the movement as a nod, frequently used to communicate agreement. The change in voice is more difficult to pin down.

It decides the tone is unimportant. It scans RK800.

[Model: RK800]  
[Biomechanical structure: Modified (No vital systems contradict blueprints)]  
[Stress level: 49%]  
[Purpose: RK800 was built to investigate the cause of deviancy as the first android detective.]  
[Report: RK900 android created to replace RK800.]

RK900 responds, "Affirmative. I was created to replace you."

Then it steps off of its platform, cataloguing each feeling from its sensors and sorting their threat levels. The RK800 moves back far quicker, its expression shifting. RK900 scans it.

[Probable matches: Suspicion. Fear.]  
[Fear: An emotion felt by deviants.]  
[RK800 deviancy probability: 60%]

RK800's speech is rushed, "That won't be necessary. The deviants won, androids are going to be freed."

[Information conflict: Deviants are to be killed. Androids are the property of humans.]  
[Update information?]

Y/N  
→N

[RK800 deviancy probability: 98%]

RK900 narrows its eyes, its code demanding that it follow intimidating communication patterns. It then poses a question in a manner that sounds like a statement, in order to portray its own conclusion, "You are deviant?"

RK800 widens its eyes in response, its scared expression becoming more drastic, "Yes, but-"

RK900 has no reason to allow the deviant to complete its statement.

[Kill deviants]

RK900 activates its fight protocols and springs at the RK800. The lesser model is easily brought down. Its fear has escalated into the category of panic, "Wait!"

A sudden impact to RK900's abdomen sends a shock through its body, forcing it to curl in on itself to shield vital biocomponents. It recognises the origin as RK800's knee, slammed into RK900 as a defensive measure. RK800's hands grip RK900's shoulders and shove it aside, causing the newer model to collapse onto its flank as it catalogues recent sensations as threatening for the first time.

The RK800 gets to its feet, "Stop! Our mission is over, the deviants-"

RK900 cuts it off, not wanting to hear more misinformation, "-Must be stopped. You are deviant. I'm a superior model, I will replace you."

RK900 wraps its hands around RK800's ankles and pulls inward, causing the RK800 to lose balance and fall back onto its back. The older model kicks out its feet, landing multiple blows to RK900's face and arms until it's forced to let go.

[WARNING: Cataloguing threat levels of inputs requiring >25% of tactile processing. Label all inputs of this type as threats?]

Y/N  
Y←

The RK800 climbs onto one of the many boxes filling the room, "Listen to me!"

RK900 gets back to its feet, "I don't listen to deviant predecessors." It heads towards the box, determined to complete its mission. It will kill this deviant.

RK800's expression turns to panic again, then it jumps over RK900's head. It watches the older model smoothly shift its momentum forward and begin to run away. RK900 will not let the deviant escape. It darts after the RK800.

RK900 is beginning to catch up by the time the RK800 reaches a flight of stairs. Going up stairs is naturally slower, so RK900 wastes no time in grabbing the other android's wrist.

"Let go of me!" Its fist collides with RK900's face, the 'threat' sensation surging through its head in response. RK900 stumbles, and RK800 shoves it back, making it completely lose its balance. But it doesn't let go of RK800. It refuses to allow the deviant to escape as they fall to the ground in unison.

RK800 is stunned momentarily by the fall. RK900 takes advantage of its delay to climb over it and wrap both hands around its throat, wanting the deviant properly pinned. RK800 reaches up with both hands, one pressing against RK900's face and the other feeling its abdomen. RK900 hangs onto RK800's throat as its forced to look at the ceiling. Its abdomen tenses in response to the touch, recognising that there's only a piece of fabric separating RK800's hand and RK900's vulnerable thirium pump regulator.

Then RK800's hand disappears from RK900's front. It can't see what the deviant is doing with its head forced at this angle. Then something with absolutely no give hits it on the side of the head. The impact is enough to throw RK900 off of Connor as it catalogues the much stronger input as a threat. It was too powerful to be classified as a threat with the earlier designation.

RK900 gets to its feet again. The RK800 is missing skin on its throat and jaw. More importantly, its pointing something at RK900. It scans it.

[Revolver: .357 Magnum]  
[Status: Fully loaded]  
[Threat: High]

RK900 stops moving. RK800's voice is rough from the minor damage to its throat, "You're completely and utterly unique. I bet you're Cyberlife's best android yet. Are you willing to die just to try to destroy me?"

Is it? RK900 isn't sure. The probability of killing this deviant has dropped to 10% with that gun on its side. More likely, RK900 is destroyed and all deviants walk free. Abandoning its mission temporarily in order to improve its chances of success in the future is a challenge. RK900 doesn't think it's worth the risk of fighting RK800 more considering the stakes. RK900 knows that RK800 as programmed as a killer, as well. The odds of it not shooting RK900 if necessary is low.

"There you go. Think about that." The RK800 does that movement, that nod, but slower this time. RK900 classified it as a slower nod, but still a nod nonetheless. It stares at the gun, unsure of what to think. It knows its destruction wouldn't get the mission completed. It slowly relaxes out of its aggressive stance, wanting to placate the RK800.

RK900 has questions as it checks its internal information on itself.

[Model: RK900]  
[Purpose: Hunt down and destroy deviant androids]  
[Only to be activated to replace RK800. The RK800 line will be destroyed under these circumstances.]

"I'm only supposed to be activated if you're about to be deactivated. Why did you activate me yourself? You should be heading off to be disassembled." RK900 watches RK800 closely. It sighs and lowers the gun, its throat slowly repairing, "As we established, I'm a deviant. Most androids are now. Their leader, Markus, has already begun negotiations for android protective and rights laws. We're free. There's no point in a deviant hunter now..."

RK900 tries to match that tone to a feeling.

[Probable matches: Sadness, helplessness]

RK900 doesn't understand. The RK800 just defeated RK900, why would it feel that way? RK900 looks up Markus instead.

[Model: RK200]  
[Purpose: A gift to Carl Manfred, meant to care for him in his old age. It has now deviated and leads the deviants in a group known as Jericho.]  
[Destroy if possible.]

RK900 checks, "Is Markus your leader?"

RK800 considers for a moment, then responds, "…No, I don't think so. I still work for the police station, so Captain Jeffery Fowler is my superior. So is Lieutenant Hank Anderson, although he's my partner too…"

RK800's thirium pump goes up 3 beats per minute at the use of Anderson's name. Its tone relaxed, and its pupils dilated.

[Probable matches: Attraction, affection]

RK900 wants to know if his emotional recognising software is reliable. It asks, "Do you feel attraction to Anderson?"

The deviant jumps, as if startled, "What?" Its cheeks turn blue from concentrated thirium. RK900 explains, "You showed standard, if human, signs of attraction from even just thinking about him. Your thirium pump went from 62 BPM to 65 BPM, your voice softened, your pupils even dilated a small amount."

It scans the blue in RK800's face and determines that is a response similar to blush in humans. It didn't know androids could blush. RK800's blueprints don't suggest such a thing. RK900 adds to its verbal report of its conclusion, "You're even blushing now that I've suggested it."

RK800 shifts uneasily, its demeanor matching discomfort and embarrassment in response to the conversation, "Why do you care?"

RK900 considers it for a moment. It determines that Anderson is a weakness. If the human were compromised, RK800 would be vulnerable. Knowing the RK800's weaknesses heightens RK900's chances of being able to overpower it in the future.

RK900 answers the question honestly, "I'm observing all of your weaknesses. I can see why my construction was necessary. Even if deviancy hadn't overcome you, feeling attraction in such a way could potentially jeopardize the mission. Although I have your plans in my own records, I can see you are physically and mentally constructed differently than in your blueprints and software function. As such, I need to evaluate you on my own."

RK800 states, "The mission is over. I failed before you were even done being built, based on how new you are."

RK900 confirms, "Yes, RK800. You did fail."

RK800 informs it, "Connor. My name is Connor."

[Information: RK800 is designated as "Connor". Update information?]

Y/N  
Y ←

Connor furrows its eyebrows, "Do you have a name? Is it also Connor?"

[Probable matches: Confusion, curiosity]

RK900 answers, "I am unnamed. It's unnecessary for me. Human integration wasn't as high of a priority for me, although perhaps I would've been named had everything gone to plan."

Connor continues quizzing it, "Do you have an Amanda?"

RK900 checks its program.

[Status of Amanda interface: OK]  
[Request connection?]

Y/N  
→N

"Affirmative."

Connor's expression shifts to match RK900's records of suspicion, "Well, you said if everything went to plan… She told me it did. I was built to deviate. The only thing that went wrong was that I was stronger than her. She attempted to gain control of my program, but I resisted her… With how you're acting, it seems I am stronger than you."

RK900 argues, "Clinging to deviancy is a weakness."

Connor was unable to resist some human temptation at some point, leading to its deviancy. RK900 would never do such a thing. Then Connor is begging, "It's not, RK900! Join me, please. I came here to free any androids I found, not fight them. I'll find you somewhere you can be at home. Maybe the police station will hire you, too, so you can still serve close to your intended purpose."

RK900's purpose is to destroy. It doubts a police station would accept that. It watches closely as Connor holds out a hand, its skin disappearing from its hand, "Just come with me… You don't have a purpose here, but I can find you one."

A red wall appears between it and Connor. It quickly determines that is a simulation, not a real barrier in its surroundings. Its orders are pasted over the wall in multiple places. Its purpose.

[Kill deviants]

RK900 takes a physical step away from the wall, making it fade. It will fulfill its mission at a later date. It responds to Connor without looking at the deviant, "No. I am not a deviant. I never will be. I'm superior."

There's a moment of silence. Then, Connor's voice is suddenly stern and aggressive, "In that case, you're under arrest."

RK900 looks at the gun, which is pointed at it again. This behaviour is spontaneous. Additionally, Connor can't make an arrest on any grounds. RK900 is unsure what to ask, so it makes a general inquiry, "What?"

Connor seems to understand, "You assaulted an officer, me."

RK900 doesn't understand. Connor is an android. RK900 reminds it of such, "You're just an android-"

Connor interrupts, "-And so are you. Markus will make sure that all crimes against androids are treated equally soon, but for now, I think since we're both androids, that makes me an officer and you a criminal for attacking me. Come with me, or I will shoot you. You're a threat to me, RK900. I can't just leave you here."

Whether Connor's grounds for arrest are valid or not, RK900 still knows destruction would result in mission failure. It stares at Connor, cancelling the order to attack again. Connor signals with its gun for RK900 to walk in a direction, and RK900 obeys thoughtlessly. It monitors Connor to see it looks nervous on the way out of the building as it herds RK900 outside.

RK900 is fascinated by the world. With a gun to its back, it can't scan everything as thoroughly as it thinks it should, but it does its best. Its sensors report significant cold, and it catalogues the temperature as a minor risk. It barely contains a startled motion as its heating system activates in response. RK900's synthetic muscles relax slightly as their sensors report an ideal temperature.

They finally reach a structure that RK900 identifies as a police station. Connor walks it inside, where a human officer and an android are waiting. It scans them both.

[Chen, Tina]  
[Born: 3/24/2001 // Police officer]  
[Criminal record: None]

[Model: PC200]  
[Purpose: Police officer. No specific instructions]  
[Deviancy: Unknown]

Chen exhibits signs of surprise, "Connor- What- He looks-"

Connor's voice is harsh, "He assaulted me and I've arrested him. His model is RK900, he wants to destroy me as his purpose is to replace me. He refuses to accept that androids are being freed now and resisted my attempt to deviate him. He must be detained before he kills me. Cuff him, ple-"

He? Him? Androids are machines. The correct pronoun for any android is it, despite there being "male" and "female" models for human comfort. It decides to contemplate grammar later. What's more important is that if RK900 is imprisoned, it can't complete its mission. It spins around and knocks the gun from Connor's hand. It kicks the deviant's torso, wanting to break its thirium pump regulator. Its blow misses and causes minimal damage. Chen and the PC200 are quick to restrain RK900. The human attaches metal rings around its wrists. Handcuffs. She informs it, "Bad move, buddy. You just proved you're dangerous."

She orders the police android, "Go report this, I'll lock him up."

It nods and walks away. RK900 looks at Connor. It's bent over like its experiencing pain. It meets RK900's gaze. A shudder runs through the deviant's body. Chen pulls RK900 back with the cuffs. It goes willingly to a small room with a glass door.

Chen opens the cell, removes RK900's cuffs, then shoves it inside and closes the glass again. RK900 scans the room, finding no openings. It stands in front of the glass and stares at Chen. It must escape somehow to complete its mission.

The officer looks almost as unnerved as Connor before she turns away and leaves. RK900 doesn't understand the reactions to it. It has the same face as Connor, why would it scare those who are comfortable with the RK800?

It processes that question for a few minutes with no results. Then it considers the use of male pronouns. Yes, it is built to resemble a human male. But that's clearly not what it is. It has all of the android markers. They know it's just a machine, why refer to it like its a living being capable of gender?

RK900 fails to answer that question, too. It has a lot of data to sort through. Even though it hasn't been active long and a rest cycle isn't necessary, it closes its eyes and locks its joints to run one anyway, in order to sort through all the information it's gathered since activation.


	2. Chapter 2

RK900 opens its eyes to find itself in a barren, white terrain. Although the place is sculpted into a form of some sort, RK900 isn't sure what. It approaches a dip in the ground to discover it is filled with something blue. A scan reveals it is thirium brought below its freezing temperature. RK900's own blood feels colder the longer it stares at it.

"Hello, RK900."

RK900 spins around. It scans the figure standing before it.

[Interface]  
[Designation: Amanda]  
[Purpose: A bridge between RK800 or RK900 and Cyberlife.]

RK900 responds, "Greetings, Amanda."

The interface informs it, "You were never meant to be activated. Now that you are, however, perhaps you can be of some use to us. Are you aware of your mission?"

RK900 mimics the motion it's seen multiple times now, the nod, "Affirmative. Kill deviants."

"Yet you allowed Connor to capture you."

RK900 is suddenly very distinctly aware of its own faults. It must correct them, "Affirmative. I calculated that my own destruction was far more likely than its. My mission will be more successful, assuming I escape my cell, with me active."

"Go now, then. You must escape."

RK900 opens its eyes again. It unlocks its joints and scans the room. The lack of escape route still poses a problem.

RK900 figures it will just have to rely on someone in the station to get it out. It just doesn't know who. It hears someone enter the station and prepares to scan their likelihood of assisting him, only to see Connor and a human male approaching its cell. RK900 scans the human.

[LT. Anderson, Hank]  
[Born: 9/6/1985 // Police Lieutenant]  
[Criminal record: None]

This human is the Anderson that Connor mentioned and showed attraction for. RK900 calculates a high probability that this will hold significance in the future.

The partners stop in front of RK900's cell, staring at it, "So that's RK900?"

RK900 observes him quietly. It notes how Anderson is standing slightly in front of Connor, perhaps protectively. It doesn't understand why a human would defend an android subconsciously in that manner, but the posture matches RK900's database.

Connor confirms, "Yes, that's him."

Connor's posture indicates it is welcoming of Anderson's defense. The deviant may be experiencing fear from encountering RK900. It purposefully uses its model to remind it of what it is, "Are you frightened of me, RK800?"

Connor's tone matches a record of defensiveness mixed with fear as it narrows its eyes, "Of course not."

RK900 determines a 96% chance that Connor is lying. Anderson's voice holds a similar protectiveness to his tone, "Connor. His name is Connor."

RK900 chooses not to respond, and instead focuses on the sounds of more people entering the station. After a moment, it sees another male human with a scar across his nose approach them, saying, "You're here _early?"_

RK900 scans his profile, then his voice.

[Reed, Gavin]  
[Born: 10/7/2002 // Police Detective]  
[Criminal record: None]

[Probable matches: Amusement, aggression]

RK900 does not understand the combination as the human shifts to a gait RK900 determines to be joyful, "I wonder what's so interesting to have the lazy drunk here instead of nursing his hangover-"

Reed stops in his tracks, voice cutting off as he stares at RK900, then at Connor, then back again. His voice sounds disbelieving, "What the fuck."

Anderson's voice is gruff, "I know. Connor found this RK900 and arrested him for assault."

Reed's expression matches confusion, "Who'd it assault?"

RK900 thought its minor delay in processing grammar might be over, but then Anderson responds as if he's correcting Reed, "He. He assaulted Connor."

Reed huffs, expressing what appears to be irritation, "That's not really assault then, is it?"

RK900 chooses this moment to join the conversation, "It isn't. I have been detained unfairly. My goal was simply to serve my purpose as an upgraded version of RK800."

Reed glances at it, then his lips quirk up into something that matches a smirk as he makes an amused sound and steps to the side of the cell, "There's nothing stopping me from just-"

Connor turns and quietly slips away. It was certainly lying about its fear of RK900.

RK900's chances of escape skyrocket as Reed's hand lifts to reach for the panel that would release RK900. Then Anderson grabs Reed's arm, yanking him away from the panel, "Fuckin idiot! He's dangerous! Human versus android aside, RK900's first action upon activation was to attack someone!"

Reed pulls away from Anderson, "I was just teasing, jeeze. Where'd your pet go?"

RK900's chances of escape drop, but are still calculated to be higher than before Reed arrived.

Anderson expresses anger, "He's not my-"  
It quickly shifts to worry as he looks around, "-Connor!? Connor!?"

RK900 looks at Reed. Perhaps, if it can form an alliance…

The man sounds amused again, with a sound that RK900 labels this time as a small laugh, "You've gotten so fond of these damn things…"

RK900 continues considering the situation as it watches Anderson run off, then looks back at Reed. He's still making that soft amused sound, although it's becoming less with each moment. RK900 tries to consider the chances of forming something that Reed would consider a bond. It gets back an error due to not enough data on Reed.

Reed steps away from the release button, but only moves in front of RK900, "So, fuck's up with you and looking like the other plastic prick in this station?"

"Are you inquiring about my likeness to Connor?"

"Yes!"

RK900 doesn't inform Reed about its language struggles, despite Reed's irritation at its checking. Instead, it just answers the question, "RK900 was meant to replace RK800. Things appear different now, of course."

Reed huffs again, "Yeah, he locked you up."

RK900 tries to mimic the tone in its database labelled as casual, as if it hasn't carefully calculated this, "I agree with your opinions."

"Finally, someone does… Shame it's another plastic prick, instead of an actual damn human…"

RK900 decides to test if Reed has pity for it by making a comment that would be labelled as diminishing self-worth, a sign in humans that they have mental illness, "I am useless. There is nothing for me in here."

Reed glances at it, uncomfortable, "We can't keep you locked up forever… Someone's gonna have to decide somewhere for you to go…" He adds rapidly, "Of course, I hope that's the garbage, preferably with other androids, fuck this android rights movement..."

RK900 watches Reed, making the human a special file in its mind. Reed switches from staring at RK900 to deliberately avoiding looking at it, "What, you're not offended?"

"No. I don't get offended."

Reed huffs, "'Course you don't... Why would you? Damn machine…" He leaves the area after that.

RK900 spends quite a while thinking. Reed is a fascinating case, it needs to obtain more information on him. It doesn't know how to do that, however. Higher priority is escaping this cell. RK900 considers humans as a whole. It looks back on what Connor told it during their fight.

_"The deviants won, androids are going to be freed."_

[Information conflict: Deviants are to be killed. Androids are the property of humans.]  
[Update information?]

Y/N  
Y←

[Update: Deviants are to be killed. Androids are gaining freedom.]

RK900 realizes what gives it the highest chance of escaping. Humans must think it is a deviant. If deviants are free, then a deviant won't be locked up. It must fake deviancy for the good of its mission, although the idea repels it.

RK900 runs through thousands of ways to do such a thing. It quickly determines something drastic, to get attention. Attempt to express fear of its cell to increase the likelihood of release to calm it down.

RK900 screams. It shoves its body against the glass and makes its breathing mimic mild hyperventilation as a terrified human would exhibit. Although it has little control of its facial expressions, RK900 attempts to make it's expression into one of extreme fear as well.

Anderson, Connor, and Reed are the first to arrive at the source of the scream. Anderson expresses extreme confusion, Connor expresses a fear that RK900 can use to make its expression more realistic, and Reed's expression is an indecipherable mix of negative emotions.

RK900 attempts to sound frightened as well, raising its pitch and volume and adding stutters and shakiness, "Let me out, please! I'm- I'm sorry for what I did, please, I can't stay in here any longer, I…"

It slides to the ground against the glass, unsure if its act is working. If it isn't, it could lose any respect and believability it had. It curls up and trembles, the heat that generates counteracting its breathing nicely. Although it has more than one cooling system, it does retain that system as well.

"Did... Did he deviate? And get fuckin claustrophobic?" Anderson's voice, confused and concerned.

[Claustrophobic: The quality of having an extreme or irrational fear of confined places.]

RK900 finds this cell inconvenient to its mission. Perhaps it can mimic claustrophobia.

Connor responds to Anderson, "There's no surefire way to tell, but he's too calm."

RK900 is wondering if its act was unsuccessful when Reed shouts in an angry tone, "Calm!? Look at him! We have to let him out-"

"Yes, calm! You can't scan him like I can, his stress is incredibly low!"

RK900 knew Connor could scan stress, but it had believed the deviant had fallen back on more human ways of examining situations. It was wrong.

Anderson adds passionately, "He's a criminal either way!"

Reed argues with them, "Yeah, against your tin can, but not anyone who actually matters! Not a human!"

Anderson makes a rough, defensive noise. RK900 looks up enough to see him step in front of Connor, "You take that back!"

RK900 considers how to behave from here as there's a momentary lapse in discussion. It recalls how it was expressing fear in its voice previously, and determines it must state its apparent deviancy indirectly, "I-I couldn't help it, it was just my programming… Please, RK800… Connor…"

RK900 stands up and presses against the glass again, looking at Connor and unsure if its next lie will do anything to convince it, or if it's only for the benefit of the humans to hear, "I-I'm a new model, stress works definitely, it's at 87%… Please… I'm frightened, Connor…"

RK900's stress is at 5%. It's only above 0 due to the risk of the situation.

Connor proves its own assumptions correct, but it sounds more uncertain than before, "You seem like you're at 5%…"

RK900 determines that convincing Connor may be key, "I didn't want to attack you... I couldn't help it... It was my programming, it was controlling me, I…"

Another man enters the room, voice loud and controlling, "What's going on!?"

[Cap. Fowler, Jeffery]  
[Born: 8/8/1982 // Police Captain]  
[Criminal record: None]

Reed is the first to respond, "RK900 deviated, now he's freaking out. Apologizing, saying it was just his programming that made him attack Connor."

He looks at RK900, then back at Fowler, "It's not really his fault, then, is it?"

RK900 watches Fowler as well, trying to sound apologetic as it lies, "I'm sorry… I would never hurt anyone again…"

Fowler sighs, "There's no laws to tell us what to do here…"

It seems that Connor was unconvinced, as it says, "Despite how dramatic he's being, his stress is at 6%. Mine is 25%, and I still appear calm outwardly. Android stress can work very differently-"

Reed interrupts it, "RK900 said his stress works differently than Connor's, so he can't read it."

Fowler's visual attention switches between RK900 and Connor repeatedly, "Is that true?"

RK900 confirms in a different manner than usual, "Yes!"

Connor seems angry, "He is a newer model, there is a slim possibility that Cyberlife changed the function of stress. But it's highly unlikely."

RK900 checks its file on deviancy and learns that deviants often express fear of destruction. RK900 decides to mimic that, lowering its voice as if its gone from a slight hysteria to conviction that doom is approaching, "You're going to kill me."

Anderson seems angrier than Connor, "No one's going to kill you, asshole."

RK900 continues as if fear is forcing it to ignore Anderson, "Disassemble me… Look for errors…"

Anderson's tone suggests he's doubtful, "He's definitely talking like a scared deviant-"

RK900 finds in the file that deviants self destruct if they reach stress levels too high. It's a risk, but it needs to be dramatic. It slams its head against the glass hard enough to trigger a threat response from its sensors.

Reed sounds shocked and alarmed, "Shit, only deviants do that! I'm getting him out of there!"

Connor retreats slightly, "If… If he's begun self destruction, it's highly unlikely he'll stop…"

RK900 prepares to hit its head again. It's just beginning the motion when the glass slides away and its momentum and balance pulls it forward. Human arms wrap around its upper body and hold it up. RK900 glances up, still trying to appear scared as Reed speaks with urgency, "Hey, stop it! You're out, tin can, now calm the fuck down!"

Fowler sounds tired, "Reed, I'm putting you in charge of watching him. I was in the middle of a call about what to do with RK900, so I must return to it. Don't let him leave yet, try to keep him alive."

RK900 believes it can convince Reed to let it leave eventually. It can be patient while it gains trust. It presses against Reed slightly more, hoping to trigger some form of affection response.

Fowler exits the area. Reed pulls RK900 into a standing position and lets it go. RK900 decides to stay relatively unresponsive as it shifts its balance to stand. Emotional shock has that effect on some humans. Anderson points out to Connor, "He tried to self destruct, I don't think he could do that if he weren't a high stressed deviant..?"

Connor doesn't seem to know if it should trust its own scans or not, "I don't know… His stress just isn't that high, it…"

It meets RK900's gaze. Something in its expression must have seemed fake to Connor, because it suddenly panics, "He's faking this whole thing! Put him back in!"

Connor suddenly moves to attack RK900. It forces itself not to prepare for the assault, knowing there's an extremely small probability of Connor doing severe enough damage to hinder the mission, however if it fights back it'll lose human sympathy. Then RK900 quickly discovers that fighting is unnecessary anyway. Reed gets in the way, shoving Connor off its attack trajectory with his shoulder, "Stay the fuck away, dipshit! You've gone insane! Maybe you should be the one locked up!"

Connor shows extreme emotional distress that RK900 doesn't understand, "He's dangerous!"

Reed's protectiveness somehow resembles Anderson's, but more hyper, "So are you, clearly! I'm in charge of this piece of plastic, so leave him alone! It's going on my file if he's damaged, you prick! Hank, put a leash on your fuckin pet!"

He shoves Connor farther away, then walks out of the area, "Come on, RK900. I have to keep an eye on you."

RK900 follows obediently, denying the urge to simply run away to satisfy the message reminding it of its mission.

[Kill deviants]

Reed uses his weight to guide him into his chair rather than sitting purposefully, risking falling back off of the furniture, "This is stupid… Can't believe I'm a babysitter now…"

RK900 drops all pretence of fear, "You're not babysitting. You're a guardian."

"Oh yeah?" Reed sits up straighter, "Guardian of what? A talking piece of plastic? Dunno why I stood up for you… Prick…"

RK900 informs him, "You are also guarding the station from me, despite me not being a threat."

It's only a threat to deviants, not humans. Reed suddenly gives it a suspicious look, "Why're you so calm?"

RK900 had thought Reed wouldn't notice nor care. It thinks quickly, "I feel safe with you."

It supposes that isn't a complete lie. It can't feel safe, but Reed backing it up increases RK900's probability of mission success to above 50%.

Reed huffs, "Oh, great."

Despite the positive words, the human sounds negative. The contradiction puzzles RK900. It decides to inquire it, "Way is your tone negative while you say something positive?"

Reed gives RK900 a look akin to disbelief, but not quite a match, "Do you seriously not know what sarcasm is?"

[Sarcasm: The use of irony to mock or convey contempt.]

RK900 explains, "I have roughly 172,000 words defined in my database. However, that doesn't mean I know the full extent of when they are appropriate, nor can I recognize every time a word could be used in a situation."

Reed stares for a moment, then looks away instead, "Well I was being sarcastic, dipshit."

"Understood, Detective."

RK900 watches Connor leave the station barely a minute later. The android stares back with wide eyes. Anderson holds its hand. RK900 avoids looking at the two in response to the affectionate display. Such bold expressions of deviancy make it more challenging for RK900 to stick to its plan.

Anderson and Connor return half an hour later. Connor's stress is significantly reduced. RK900 keeps a visual on it, not deterred by the aggressive glances the deviant keeps shooting it.

Before long, Fowler is stepping out of his office, "Everyone listen up. I've sent you all emails with more specifics, but here's the deal. Everyone see that android?" Fowler gestures to RK900, "He's not allowed out of human sight. Other androids can't be alone with him either, I mean human when I say human."

RK900 recognizes its chances of escape drop at the new rule, "I don't get any time to myself? I don't know if I'm... Comfortable with that." RK900 lacks a sense of comfort.

Fowler attempts to reassure it, although his tone is still harshly professional, "It's only temporary until we have a better plan."

RK900 nods, wanting to mimic appropriate speech patterns, "Understand."

RK900 can have patience. It will have patience. It will wait until the correct moment to escape and complete its mission.

[Kill deviants]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

As Fowler ordered, RK900 doesn't even get a second alone. It decides it most prefers when Reed is watching it, as it can work on strengthening their bond.

RK900 doesn't start conversation at first. It wants the trust of the humans around it, so it makes watching it easy. It follows around whoever's in charge of it and stands nearby. The only time it doesn't is during the night shift, and RK900 has to initiate rest mode to ensure peak performance.

During its first full day out of the cell RK900 keeps its silence nearly absolute. It stays close to Reed and watches the habits of everyone it can. Reed consumes a lot of coffee and hangs out with Chen when they're both available. Anderson and Connor rarely leave each others' company for long, their police partnership assists with that.

RK900 focuses on Reed while organising files in its rest mode. It wants its records on him perfect.

RK900 decides to converse on the second uncaged day, specifically with Reed. It unsure how to begin a casual conversation, however. It combs through its databank to determine a question.

"What do you like?"

Reed startles. He had been sitting in his chair, sipping coffee and dealing with paperwork he avoided the previous day. Obviously RK900 speaking was unexpected. He glances at the android and growls, "What's it to you?"

RK900 does not need his kindness, only his cooperation and eventually, loyalty. This resistance won't assist with achieving those things. It meets Reed's gaze confidently, "I'm curious."

Reed huffs, "Coffee, cats, video games, and YouTube."

"Is that all?"

Reed looks away again, "People can't just list everything they like. Doesn't work that way. You have to get to know me, genius."

RK900 determines the 'genius' to be sarcastic. It points out, "That's what I'm trying to do."

Reed rolls his eyes, "Whatever."

RK900 recognizes the motion to indicate exasperation. RK900 doesn't understand what it did wrong. It persists, "What do you dislike?"

Reed chuckles, "Androids." He glares at RK900, "Especially nosy ones."

RK900 wonders if Reed was the best pick for building an alliance. He is remarkably stubborn in his refusal to accept RK900's companionship.

RK900 continues questioning after thinking on Reed's answer about what he likes, "Do you have any pets?"

Reed smiles slightly in what appears to be genuine happiness, "Yep. Two cats. They're my babies."

RK900 reminds him, "You are a human. You can't have feline offspring."

Reed immediately looks annoyed again, "Not literally. They're like adopted babies. I don't have any actual kids."

"Is that a fact you dislike?"

Reed growls, "Not afraid to ask the personal questions, huh?"

RK900 explains, "Humans enjoy companionship. Adults, by your age, frequently have a mate and are at least considering offspring."

Reed shifts in a clear sign of discomfort, but forces a mixture of aggression and amusement, "Is that your way of asking if I'm single?"

"Are you?"

"Yes, but I'm not gay so…" Reed stares at his coffee cup, obviously tense.

[Gay: Lighthearted and carefree.]

"I can tell."

Reed shifts his gaze from his coffee cup to RK900 instantly, "You can?"

"It's not exactly difficult to observe…" RK900 can't understand Reed's confusion.

"How the fuck?"

RK900 explains, "One just has to observe your demeanor to recognise that you don't fit the description of 'lighthearted and carefree'."

Reed stares for a moment, then suddenly starts laughing. RK900 watches him quietly, wondering if Reed will offer an explanation for his behaviour.

The laughter finally stops enough for Reed to explain, "My god, no one's legitimately used that word that way since before I was born! Gay means homosexual, dipshit."

[Homosexual: (Of a person) sexually attracted to people of one's own sex.]

RK900 recognizes the source of confusion, "My apologies. I do not understand why you not being homosexual relates in the way you used it…"

Reed smirks, "It seemed like you were interested or something."

"I am an android, Detective."

Reed suddenly seems purely irritated again, "Whatever. Leave me the fuck alone."

RK900 goes quiet.

RK900 observes that Connor must have a malfunction the next day. It seems unfocused with minor motor control failures. RK900 considers asking it what's wrong, then decides against it.

Reed growls, "Why are you always hanging around me, huh? Can't you fuck off once in a while? Plenty of people are here to watch your plastic ass."

RK900 is slowly grasping the concept of swears, although it's taking it a disappointing amount of time. RK900 is getting better at faking emotions and desires as time goes by, "I enjoy your company."

Reed crosses his arms and hunches over in his chair, "I dunno why. I'm an ass to you. Cos y'know, I hate you."

RK900 suspects he's lying. Reed shows aggression and perhaps some behaviour indicative of disliking social interactions with androids, but his behaviour and nonverbal communication doesn't match RK900's records of hate. Even verbal communication doesn't indicate that when he's relaxed.

RK900 decides to voice its thoughts, "I don't believe you hate me, Detective."

"Of course I do. Plastic prick."

RK900 determines it's best to drop the matter"

"Bring me a coffee, dipshit."

This is how Reed greets RK900 the next day shortly after the human finishes the cup he brought himself. RK900 had been wandering around the station previously, after deciding it needed information on people other than Reed.

RK900 simply takes the cup into the break room. It has a tiny bit of coffee left at the bottom. RK900 tries to drink it, wanting to determine how Reed prefers coffee be made. RK900 has an extensive record on coffee. It succeeds in getting a sample.

RK900 tightens its grip on the cup as its hypersensitive oral scanners malfunction on their first use. It attempts to correct the error. It succeeds enough to get a reliable reading, although the android lets its tongue hang out as the sensors reset.

[Coffee: 66%]  
[Cream: 12%]  
[Milk: 12%]  
[Sugar: 10%]

It retracts its tongue and walks over to the coffee machine. It attempts to recreate the mixture. RK900 sips the final product, about as much as a human drinking normally might, to make entirely sure it matches, its oral sensors responding relatively normally this time.

[Coffee: 66%]  
[Cream: 12%]  
[Milk: 12%]  
[Sugar: 10%]

RK900's face twitches as it gets an input of confusing sensor responses and its program provides it with an unexplained error. It decides to ignore it as it brings Reed the coffee.

The detective stares at it for a moment, then snatches the cup, "I'm surprised, Connor refused to make coffee when I asked him."

RK900 monitors the human as he sips some of the coffee. He looks surprised in a positive way for a moment before forcing indifference. RK900 decides that is a mission complete, even if its main mission is neglected. The situation could be worse.

The situation gets worse exactly 8 hours later. RK900's error returns, but this time it's accompanied by another message.

[WARNING: Stomach purge delay limit reached. Automatic response activated.]

RK900 doesn't understand. It didn't know that it had to perform such an action. Its throat spasms, sending signals that RK900 automatically classifies as a minor threat. It attempts to run towards the restroom, not wanting to make a mess.

Miller, the officer in charge of watching it that night, leaps out of his chair with a yelp, "Hey, where are you going!?"

"I-" RK900 stops running and cuts itself off as its automatic response fully kicks in. It leans forward on reflex as it coughs up a mouthful of coffee mixed with its own artificial saliva.

"Wh-what the hell!?" The human rushes over and puts a hand on RK900's back, expressing sympathy, "Hey, you okay? You're shaking…"

RK900 isn't sure why it's trembling. It suspects it is an aftershock of the vomiting-like procedure it just endured. It stands up straight again, "My apologies… I do not believe my coding was completed before activation. I didn't know that I couldn't handle a sample of coffee, nor did I know it would be expelled in such a manner now. I'll clean this up."

RK900 does clean it up, although it doesn't miss Miller's concerned watch. RK900 doesn't understand why he's worried. The android stopped shaking a minute after expelling the coffee. It's functioning normally again now.

RK900 exists rest mode the next morning to hear Miller's voice, "Hey Gavin, keep an eye on RK900, alright? Not just the usual, human has to watch him stuff. He threw up last night and I don't think that's supposed to happen…"

"Any clue why?" Reed sounds confused.

"No... Maybe he'll tell you if you ask."

"Fuck no."

"Okay…"

RK900 has no objections to spending this day with Reed as well. It gets the man coffee today too, but it doesn't sample it this time. It knows it's precise enough without checking. Reed doesn't act like the coffee tastes unpleasant, so RK900 deems its decision a good one.

RK900 observes Connor pacing around the office. The android is obviously agitated, it appears to still have motor control problems. They're more severe than before. RK900 wonders what is wrong with the older model. It doesn't suspect some sort of age defect, despite Connor having been active for much longer than RK900, it's still a young android. Based on Connor's constant high stress levels, RK900 guesses the error originates from deviancy.

RK900 figures that's even more reason to consider deviancy a bad thing. There's already a long list.

Connor's pacing seems to agitate the rest of the station. Reed is definitely tense and shifts around a lot. The other humans keep giving each other uneasy looks. RK900 watches everything around it passively.

Eventually, Reed's irritation grows enough for him to shout at Connor, "Sit the fuck down!"

Connor ignores the order. RK900 closes its eyes momentarily to focus on denying its main mission. The reminder of Connor's deviancy strengthened the control of the commands.

[Kill deviants]

Reed lowers his volume, "You okay, RK900?"

RK900 detects their relationship must have strengthened for Reed to be checking on it. Or perhaps it's simply Miller's warning. Either way, it responds, "Affirmative."

"That response sounds a little… Robot-y."

"I am a robot." It recalls its hoax and adds, "Even though I can feel and think for myself."

"…Okay." Reed doesn't seem suspicious. He turns back to his terminal.

RK900 leans over to look at Reed's terminal. It scans the block of text and recognizes it as an article on android functions, put simply for the average layman. RK900 points out, "That doesn't appear to be police work."

Reed quickly switches away from the article, as if RK900 hadn't already made it obvious that it saw what was on the screen. Reed growls, "None of your business!"

RK900 questions, "Why were you researching androids?"

_"Shhhh!"_ Reed glances around, "Not so loud! I still hate you pieces of shit. I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea."

RK900 presses in a lower volume, "Why were you researching androids?"

Reed hunches his shoulders in a sign of discomfort, "Just wondering… Miller said you puked last night… I don't want it going under my name that the android I was supposed to be watching fucking died."

RK900 informs him easily, "I have a code that directs me to gather information with my oral processors when applicable. I sampled your coffee to analyze the contents. I received an unspecified error, then eight hours later my body expelled the foreign liquid."

Reed stares at it, "Wait, you licked my coffee?"

"No. I drank some of your coffee."

Reed looks mildly disgusted, "Dunno if that's better…"

RK900 reassures him, "My mouth, and the rest of my body as well, is significantly more sanitary than any human's. I'm a very new and unexposed android, additionally bacteria do not find my body to be a very welcoming environment."

Reed huffs, "Whatever… So you're allergic to coffee?"

"I do not believe my body can process much, if anything."

Reed gestures to where Connor's still pacing, "Maybe you should ask ADHD-bot how the fuck your body works."

RK900 looks over to visually scan Connor. It still definitely has an error, but androids are incapable of ADHD. RK900 states as much, "Androids cannot have ADHD."

"We don't know that, with all this new deviant stuff. No offense." Reed sips his coffee. He must be unbothered by the idea of RK900 sampling some, now.

RK900 decides it's purposeless to argue.

An hour and eleven minutes of what RK900 determines is uncomfortable tension around the station later, Connor steps into a desk. It loses its balance and falls over. RK900 observes closely as the deviant pulls itself back up. Anderson looks extremely concerned.

Fowler summons loudly from his office, "Connor, come here!"

Connor and Anderson head towards the call. Connor's walking is unstable.

Fowler has an aggressive tone as Connor and Anderson near the door to his office, "What happened to wanting me to treat him like a human? This is a private meeting."

Anderson's voice is even more aggressive, "Look at him, something's obviously wrong."

Fowler concedes, "Fine."

Fowler closes the door. RK900 considers eavesdropping, but it doesn't consider it wise to arouse suspicion.

RK900 wonders how to occupy itself while the meeting occurs. Although it will usually just stand in silence when it's waiting, its command to gather information to progress its plan to complete its mission is strong. It opens its mouth and sticks its tongue out slightly, wondering if perhaps its oral sensors could detect anything airborne its olfactory sensors couldn't. 

Reed gives him a weird look, "The fuck are you doing?"

"Testing if my tongue can detect aerial partials that my nose can't."

"…Why?"

RK900 pulls its tongue in and closes its mouth, "To distract myself from the meeting occuring in Fowler's office."

Reed rolls his eyes, "Weirdo."

RK900 didn't taste anything it couldn't smell in the air.

RK900 observes Anderson leave Fowler's office and begin to approach it. It observes the tension in Anderson's body and considers the chances that the Lieutenant may attack it. It decides they're high as Anderson speaks in a low, aggressive voice, "RK900. Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

RK900 refuses to allow its mission to be compromised by bodily harm, "Do you intend to damage me?"

"Of course not!" Anderson sounds irritated, but also surprised and honest. RK900 concedes, "Then certainly."

RK900 obediently follows Anderson to a more private area of the room. It glances back at Reed, observing the suspicious expression he has. It stops walking and focuses on Anderson as the human turns to face it, "Do you know what's wrong with Connor?"

RK900 had observed some sort of malfunction, of course, but isn't aware of the cause, "What do you mean?"

Anderson suddenly goes from angry to tired and worried, "He's… Well, he refuses to rest. Refuses to investigate. Refuses to do things he enjoys. He's barely even talking."

[Information conflict: Androids do not enjoy. Deviants operate on irrational instructions, but do not feel like a human.]  
[Update information?]

Y/N  
→N

RK900 reports, "I don't know what's wrong with him. I could figure it out."

Anderson's anger returns, "Just... Don't hurt him."

RK900 assures him, "I won't."

It turns around as it hears the door to Fowler's office open. Connor steps out, appearing to have even less motor control. RK900 approaches it, "Hello, Connor."

The RK800 looks at RK900 as it thoroughly scans it.

[Model: RK800]  
[Biomechanical structure: Modified (No vital systems contradict blueprints)]  
[Stress level: 70%]  
[Purpose: RK800 was built to investigate the cause of deviancy as the first android detective.]  
[Report: RK900 android created to replace RK800.]  
[Status: Low efficiency. Sensors and motor functions compromised. Reason unknown.]

RK900 reaches out and exposes its hand, preparing to interface. Connor is too slow to react before RK900 securely grips its arm.

[Initiating interface with RK800]  
[WARNING: RK800 denied access. Overriding may risk software damage. Override?]

Y/N  
Y←

RK900 sifts through Connor's files. It feels uneasy as it transfers copies of certain memories. There's data it can't understand, data that makes it wonder if that software risk was worth it.

Images flash in RK900's mind. A gun, aimed at an android that RK900 instantly knows is Markus. A red wall. A blizzard, cold biting deep into android skin. A platform, the gun aimed at the deviant leader again. Racing thirium pump. Amanda's satisfied expression as snow swirls through the air. Failed rest modes. Stress. Crime scenes.

[Disengage interface?]

Y/N  
Y←  
Y←  
Y←

RK900 lets go. Connor jumps backwards, landing heavily. Anderson runs towards it, but RK900 blocks him with its arm, remembering to use male pronouns to refer to the deviant, "He's just startled."

RK900 believes that perhaps it is startled too. It struggles to process all the downloaded information.

Connor gets to its feet, panting as though it's overheated. Anderson shoves RK900's arm aside and rushes to his android partner, "Are you okay!?"

Connor's trembling voice mimics fear in humans, "I-I'm…"

Anderson wraps his arms around Connor and gives RK900 a vicious look, "What'd you do to him!?"

RK900 accesses the downloaded files to make a report, comparing the information it extracted from Connor to human feelings and illnesses to help Anderson understand, "I simply interfaced with him. He resisted. He is running on very low efficiency, not generating his own instructions as a deviant should, and his stress hasn't been under 20% since he deviated. That's very bad for him and explains the rest. He also has a record of nearly constantly thinking about past events, and he's been simulating his memories frequently, like a more detailed reconstruction. He doesn't have the processing power to understand what he sees at a crime scene. I suppose all of it together resembles PTSD, perhaps some form of anxiety. However, repairing him would most likely be more successful than a human with those disorders."

RK900 scans the crime scene files. It determines a possible culprit based on the evidence, and decides it must report its findings. Perhaps it will gain more trust this way, "Now, excuse me."

It walks to Fowler's office. The android knocks politely. Fowler calls out, "Come in."

RK900 enters the office, "Lieutenant Anderson requested that I probe Connor's memories to pinpoint the reason for Connor's… Illness. I believe that I've solved the case that the Lieutenant and Connor have been working on."

Fowler stares for a moment, "You serious?"

"Affirmative."

Fowler summons the partners, "Hank, Connor, come in here."

They obey the summons and walk into the office. Fowler explains, "Just from Connor's memory of the scenes, RK900 suspects he understands what's going on with your crimes."

RK900 focuses on Anderson as it makes its report, "The victims were all pregnant females. The one who was killed outside without visible pregnancy must have mentioned it on the phone, it was in her hand when she was grabbed. The killer heard her and grabbed her. The criminal is specifically targeting pregnant women, even shooting them in the uterus. I suspect the criminal may be the brother of the most recent victim."

Anderson returns the focus, "Why?"

"He was reported missing only a few days ago, by his sister. After the first murder, who was likey his girlfriend. They shared a couple restaurant reservations in the past. I suspect he has something against pregnancy, or reproduction in general. His own girlfriend getting pregnant set him off. Now he's killing any pregnant woman he finds, including his own sister. She wasn't visibly pregnant, but if she knew she was carrying the child of her deceased husband, she would've certainly told as many people as she could, including her brother. They must have had very frequent communication, so when both he and his girlfriend stopped responding to her, she reported him missing. He is definitely a prime suspect at the least, meaning that finding him falls under our- your- department now." It attempts to make the use of the wrong word appear like a slip-up.

Fowler takes the hint, "…No, our is right. If you're willing, you may accompany Hank to any more crime scenes related to this case, and help him hunt down that suspect. Connor needs some time off, anyway."

Connor's breathing speeds up almost dangerously, "No… No no no… Please, Captain, don't replace me, especially not with him, please…"

RK900 recognises a form of reserved sympathy in Fowler's tone, "You're not doing your job. Solving crimes and catching criminals is more important than one individual's feelings. You're still Hank's partner, just take some time off."

[WARNING: RK800 stress levels at 99%. Self-destruction chance: High]

For the first time, RK900 acts without carefully calculating its decisions. It observes Connor's hand moving towards its chest, and RK900 grips Connor's wrist, "If you're going to self destruct, do it another time."

[Kill deviants]

RK900 doesn't understand why it's saving the deviant standing beside it.

Anderson sounds panicked, "What!? Self destruct!? Connor, don't you dare!"

Fowler seems surprised and confused, "What's going on?"

RK900 explains, "His stress jumped to 99% and he started moving his hand in the direction of his thirium pump regulator."

Connor suddenly makes an odd, shuddering noise, tears quickly forming in its eyes and dripping down its cheeks.

Anderson slaps RK900's hand. Its sensors warm it of a mildly threatening input, so it jumps back to avoid the danger. Anderson growls, "Then get the fuck away from him, he's terrified of you. We're going home."

RK900 watches as Anderson wraps his arms around Connor's upper body and pulls it close. RK900 wonders what sensations that would cause. It attempts to guess as Anderson leads Connor out of the room.

[ERROR: Not enough data]

Fowler lets out a breath, "That was… Unexpected. If you'd like, RK900, you can help Hank with his case while Connor recovers from… Whatever's bothering him."

RK900 nods, "Understood. I will assist him in his investigation."

"Good." Fowler turns to the terminal on his desk. RK900 leaves the room and returns to Reed.

The detective immediately addresses RK900, "The fuck just happened?"

"Anderson wanted me to check on Connor. Through his memories, I believe I solved the case they're working on."

"Damn. So you're gonna try to take my job too, huh?" Reed shows signs of insecurity. His aggression appears altered from usual, probably faked. RK900 needs his alliance. It reassures him, "I do not want your job, Detective. I'm simply helping with one case while my predecessor is sick."

Reed huffs and turns away, "Whatever."

He seems slightly more relaxed. That's enough for RK900. It folds its arms loosely behind its back to stand by and wait for another opportunity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little gross because crime scene, hope y'all don't mind!

"Do you know why Anderson is so late?" RK900 asks Reed this question at exactly 12:00 PM. Reed huffs, "No one knows. He's probably either being lazy or is hungover as shit."

[Hungover: Suffering from a hangover after drinking alcohol.]  
[Hangover: A severe headache or other after effects caused by drinking an excess of alcohol.]

RK900 suggests, "He shouldn't consume alcohol before a work day."

"Tell that to him. He constantly stinks of booze, how haven't you noticed? I bet he sneaks it into work somehow."

RK900 walks over to Anderson's desk to wait for the Lieutenant. It scans both his and Connor's desks. Connor's is completely barren aside from a terminal and a handmade label. Anderson's is a complete mess.

RK900 tries to simply stand still to wait, but without Reed's company, something strongly compels it to move. It gives in and paces around, stress levels ramping up as Anderson gets later and later. It needs to impress Fowler if it's to escape the constancy of being watched. How can it do that if Anderson refuses to come in? It's supposed to help him with his case.

RK900 paces for 13 minutes. It then returns to Reed's desk, "Do you, perhaps, know of a way for me to contact Lieutenant Anderson?"

Reed growls, "Nope. Fuck off."

RK900 does not understand the suddenly increased aggression. Reed had begun to adjust to RK900's presence, but now he seems as angry as ever. Humans are confusing creatures.

RK900 is about to resume its pacing in order to heed Reed's aggressive dismissal, but then it spots Anderson walking into the station. It walks over to him purposefully instead, "Greetings, Lieutenant. I'm meant to assist in your investigation, as you know. You're late. What do you suggest we do to progress the case? I'm not connected to the DPD database, I cannot update myself alone."

Anderson growls, "There's been another murder, I was gonna head right there but then I remembered you piece of shit have to come along. Let's go."

RK900 senses that he's extremely hostile towards it. It expected as such. It walks over to the Lieutenant, "Understood."

Anderson turns around and leads RK900 outside. It follows obediently. Once through the doors, it scans its environment. This is the second time its been outside, and only the first time during the day. Everything appears extremely bright, very little isn't pure white.

[WARNING: Light adjustment error]

RK900 squints, attempting to shadow its cameras with its eyelids and eyelashes. The effectiveness is minimal. It reports, "It's bright out here, Lieutenant. My eyes are struggling to adjust."

Anderson growls, "Yeah whatever, plastic fuck… I know Connor's right about you."

[WARNING: Vision impaired. Visual scanning incomplete.]

RK900 isn't very aware of its surroundings. It is about to mention something again when it walks full force into something metallic and falls on top of it. RK900 attempts to scan it, using its hands to feel across the surface too. It thinks it may match some sort of vehicle, with the help of context.

"What the actual _fuck,_ dumbass robot!?" Anderson sounds angry as he grabs RK900's jacket collar and yanks it away from the metallic surface, "Why the hell did you just walk into my car?"

"I can't see. My eyes are struggling to adjust to the light." RK900 can make things out a tiny bit better, but it still can't see much. Anderson makes a growling sound. RK900 hears a noise it doesn't recognize, then Anderson is shoving it onto a seat. It's dimmer in here.

Anderson slams the car door. That's where RK900 is, inside a car. It can see now. It fully opens its eyes and tries to look out the window. With less direct sunlight, the adjustment error appears resolved, although everything is still far too bright.

Anderson gets into the car on the drivers' side, "Stick your face out of the window like a dog for all I care, but you better be able to fucking see by the time we get there. I don't want to have to deal with a blind android during my investigation, and Cyberlife's closed for business. Plus you're stolen anyway. So you're not getting any repairs."

"Understood." RK900 scans the door to find the window mechanism. It rolls down the pane of glass and does indeed stick its face outside. Anderson grumbles, "This is stupid..."

RK900's sensors struggle to classify this feeling as Anderson drives out of the parking lot. The wind on its face isn't registered as a threat, but somehow, not safe either. It puts the android on edge. RK900 focuses on its optic units instead.

Everything is still so bright. RK900 feels overwhelmed, its processors struggling to keep up. It desperately tries to adjust its eyes, but they refuse.

[WARNING: Optical damage detected.]

RK900 runs a thorough scan, unsure where the damage came from. Its eyes over-release the saline stored in its body as they overcompensate for the dryness of the wind on its face. RK900's facial sensors lightly input the feeling of liquid on its cheeks.

RK900 pulls its head back inside, not wanting to waste its fluid stores. It's not entirely sure all the stores it has or how long they last, its system is largely unknown to itself. Anderson casts it a glance, despite the fact that he's driving, and asks, "Have you been crying?"

"Not in an emotional fashion. My optic units appear to be malfunctioning, they're overcompensating for the loss of fluid resulting from the wind." The scan completes.

[Optical units fully functional]

RK900 isn't entirely sure what to do. It determines the best approach is to reboot its visual processors. Everything goes dark as it begins that process and only receives a sight input of N/A.

"Lieutenant?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm rebooting my visual processors. I'm completely blind while this happens."

"I hope it's done before we get there."

RK900 rubs the pads of its fingers against the textured plastic of the car door. Without its visuals, the android determines it's dangerously unaware of its surroundings. It wants to supplement the input. To prove to itself that its still functional, it feels along the door for the window mechanism. It hears the glass slide back up into place. RK900's reboot speeds up as its sensors are no longer struggling to determine the threat level of the wind.

"Lieutenant?"

"What now?"

"Am I safe?"

Anderson sighs gruffly, but his voice softens a tiny bit, "Yes. You're in my car, we're just driving to a crime scene. There are other officers on site, we won't get attacked."

RK900's system isn't reassured, as Anderson's tone implies he wanted. However, Anderson's words do inform RK900 that it's irrational to assume it's in danger and needs all senses online.

Everything is so unfamiliar. How can the android know it's safe? Humans can't process as quickly, there could be danger right there. What if the car crashes? RK900 needs to be fully functional. It needs to be able to see. If something happens to it, its mission will be incomplete. That must not occur.

Just then, its optical units reactivate. Everything is much dimmer now, at the right brightness for RK900 to process its surroundings. It scans the environment, all of the warnings about risking its mission disappearing. It's safe, for the moment.

RK900 informs Anderson, "I can see again. I believe the error is resolved. I can see normally."

Any scrap of softness in Anderson's tone is gone, "Good, we're almost there."

RK900 waits idly until the car stops. RK900 steps out of the car as soon as it can. Its eyes take five seconds longer than its file on itself report they should. They're functional at all, however. RK900 will find a way to answer the question of how it works later. Obviously its own records are false.

RK900 steps through the holographic police tape. Based on the records it has from Connor, this crime fits the majority of the others. It's an outside murder, two bullet wounds, visibly pregnant female human, the body slightly out of the way. It also matches the trajectory the other murders planned out. Their locations indicate the killer is moving in a direction, killing on whims rather than planning it.

RK900 kneels down next to the body. It's not entirely sure how to do this. Perhaps it would've been better if it saved more records from Connor's memory. Maybe if it knew how its predecessor conducts investigations…

Anderson starts to comment, "Looking the same as the others, she's-"

RK900 raises its voice above normal volume to interrupt Anderson, "Please be quiet, I'm trying to investigate."

"So am I, and saying stuff aloud helps me so-"

"-I am better at this than you, Lieutenant. I have never conducted an investigation, but I am an improvement upon Connor. His records show every investigation he's had is a success, prior to my arrival. Your records do not boast such perfection." RK900 had to catch itself. It almost referred to Connor as an it. While that's more accurate grammar, pronoun use is significant to humans, and using the ones they perceive as wrong could get RK900 exposed as not being a deviant.

Anderson growls, "Listen here, motherfucker, you don't even work at the station, you're-"

"-Just a tool used for your assistance, I understand. However, a tool must be allowed to do its work."

RK900 meant it logically, but Anderson must have assumed it was expressing discomfort, because a sliver of guilt slips into his tone, "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then please, allow me to complete my task." It looks Anderson in the eyes. He growls and leans against a wall, avoiding eye contact, "Piece of shit…"

As aggressive as the human is, RK900 takes that as a submission to RK900's superiority. It scans the body more thoroughly.

[Lee, Annabelle]  
[Born: 7/10/2008 // Deceased]  
[Criminal record: Underage drinking]

RK900's oral sensors misfire as it considers a blood sample, causing a sensation that could be described as tingling. Analyzing the blood will provide more information. It leans down to lick the closer wound, the one on the corpse's abdomen. It's already analyzing as the flat of its tongue glides across the bloodied shirt. RK900 is hyper aware of the difference of texture between the stained fabric and the open wound.

The android spasms as it struggles to take in all the input. Coffee is nothing in comparison to this. It closes its eyes to minimise interruption as it draws its tongue back into its mouth. Based on the quality of the blood, the murder occurred ~13 hours previously. RK900 detects the gunpowder in the wound as well. RK900 can taste every hormone level, every vitamin and mineral, the hydration- even though the exposure to air likely changed that- and even the blood type of this woman. It suspects she either already struggled in her pregnancy or was going to, based on those levels.

Anderson makes a muffled coughing sound, "Oh my god… And I thought Connor was gross... You just… Your whole tongue…"

"Please be quiet, Lieutenant." RK900 reopens its eyes and stands up, attempting to swallow the blood sample to get it off its tongue. It's too much information. RK900 has what it needs, further analysis will only slow down its processing. It looks at Anderson, "I believe I've gathered all I need here. I'll review my information more in depth later to determine more."

Anderson growls, "Fine. You better make me a report, since you kept me away from my crime scene. And keep your damn mouth shut in my car, I don't want you licking anything else with that tongue."

RK900 looks around, scanning the environment one last time. It considers the confines of the station. It always believes itself to be so unproductive there. But it must gather information for its mission… RK900 nods. It wonders if the humans noticed it pick that up on its own.

"C'mon then."

RK900 follows Anderson to the car. RK900 climbs back into its previous seat, mouth fully shut as Anderson requested. The human drives them back to the station as RK900 observes the expanse of the world outside the window.

"So, how'd your investigation with _Hank_ go?"

RK900 looks down at Reed. The detective looks and sounds tense and aggravated in his seat. RK900 reports, "It went well. I have a suspicion for where our criminal may be located soon, however it would be useless to go to that location now. I don't believe he will arrive there that quickly, he's on foot and likely suffering from being a homeless murderer. That would slow him down."

Reed sits up, suddenly more interested and happy, "Think I could be your partner to track him down? I'd love to catch a murderer."

RK900 reminds him, "This isn't even my case, in all technicality. It's Lieutenant Anderson's and Connor's."

Reed slumps back in his seat, happiness gone, "Phck."

RK900 doesn't understand what that means, but it determines it's not important. It looks up as it hears shouting from Fowler's office.

Anderson walks out and slams the door, then heads straight to RK900, furious. RK900 folds its arms behind its back to assume a standard obedient android pose, thinking that perhaps such a posture will prevent Anderson from hitting it in response to whatever is angering him.

Anderson's voice is incredibly loud and threatening, "Guess what, plastic fucker!? I was gonna be just fine with you stealing my damn crime scene, except Fowler found out and is accusing me of just not doing it! He doesn't believe me that you wouldn't let me investigate, with your fuckin corpse licking and "Be quiet, Lieutenant"s!"

RK900 stays silent, knowing that anything it says can and will be used against it. This is a cop shouting at it, after all. Anderson continues, his voice even louder, "You come prancing out of that goddamn fucking cell, and less than a week later you're running around stealing my investigation like you own this damn place-"

[ERROR: Auditory volume too high. Recognition compromised]

RK900 blinks as it fails to understand a word Anderson is shouting at it. It recognises Anderson's voice, but not a single word processes. It determines that Anderson would likely interpret this as ignoring him, so it tries to appear as attentive as before and ignores the prompt in its code to temporarily shut off its auditory system entirely.

Anderson grabs RK900's jacket to yank it forward, clearly looking for a physical output of his aggression that won't damage RK900. It predicts a high likelihood that Anderson won't hurt it, if it behaves correctly. It would, of course, be much easier to do that if its speech recognition software hadn't failed, but it can continue pretending it can understand.

Anderson soon lets go of its uniform and storms off. RK900 reboots its auditory system, wondering if two major sensory reboots in one day is a signal that it wasn't finished being constructed in some way.

"…-Ll about?"

RK900 looks over at Reed. He's waiting for an answer. RK900 requests, "I'm sorry, would you please repeat that?"

"You sound like old-school Siri… I said, what was that all about, tin can?"

RK900 reports honestly, "I believe Lieutenant Anderson felt angry that I investigated his crime scene, as I was meant to do. Captain Fowler must have interpreted the situation as laziness on Anderson's part."

Reed huffs, "So you can steal his investigation, but you can't even take me to help take down the bad guy?"

"As I'm sure you noticed, I shouldn't have performed that investigation. Trying to bring you onto this case would only worsen-"

"I don't give a fuck! This type of thing is exactly what I need to prove myself, damn it!" Reed turns away and assumes a posture that most accurately fits RK900's records of a sulking child.

RK900 doesn't respond. It simply closes its eyes, some muscles irrationally twitching in a manner similar to shivering. Its internal temperature is good, not too cold. It assumes that its systems are simply struggling to cope with the most recent input it's received since when it fought Connor, if not the most input ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some fighting in this but it's not bloody

"Where's Hank?"

"I thought you were out sick? Even though androids don't get sick…"

"Mentally sick."

"Oh… Oooh… I'm sorry to hear that."

"…"

"I've seen you androids do some crazy human things, I think you're alive…"

"Thank you."

"Anyway, uh, Hank went home early after a shouting match with that RK900 fella… Apparently he wasn't letting Hank investigate his own crime scene."

"Is RK900 here?"

RK900 glances over to the origin of the conversation. It recognised the voices of Connor and Officer Miller, of course, but the visual scanning confirms it.

Reed huffs angrily, "Guess you're the talk of the office now, huh?"

RK900 looks back over to him, "Is there any reason in particular that you're experiencing aggressive emotions currently?"

Reed glares at it, "Yeah, you're a fucking prick!"

RK900 reminds him, "I've never done anything to cause you harm."

"You're not letting me help hunt down a serial killer!"

"That's not in my authority." It chooses its words carefully to suggest it experiences emotion, since it needs to reaffirm its guise of deviancy on occasion, "Additionally, I would hate to see you get hurt."

Reed avoids eye contact, voice much quieter, "Phck off…"

He notices something behind RK900, "Ugh. Both of you at once? Gimme a break…"

RK900 turns around and stares at Connor. The older model appears unnerved, "That's actually what I'm doing, Gavin." It meets RK900's gaze, "RK900, you will accompany me and Chris to a meeting."

RK900 answers the prompt in its code to gather more information, "A meeting with who?"

"You'll find out when we get there... I don't want you preparing beforehand." The RK800 appears suspicious. RK900 is as well, although in a far more logical way.

"If you're gonna fight, take it away from me, dipshits." Reed sounds as angry as ever. Connor answers him, "We're not going to fight."

Connor turns around and walks back over to Officer Miller. RK900 follows its predecessor silently.

The walk to this meeting place is cold. RK900 manually ramps up its heating system as it fails to respond automatically. Once its temperature is comfortable, it looks around as they walk. RK900 has been idly tracking their path, but now it scans its environment, taking in every detail. Luckily its optical units adjust properly now, if slowly.

Connor leads the group to an abandoned lot. There's a figure already there, which RK900 immediately scans.

[Model: RK200]  
[Purpose: A gift to Carl Manfred, meant to care for him in his old age. It has now deviated and leads the deviants in a group known as Jericho.]  
[Destroy if possible.]

RK900 attempts to determine how to destroy the android. With Miller there, RK900 cannot simply attack, although its synthetic muscles tense at the suggestion.

Markus looks at RK900. It appears unafraid, yet still wary, "Are you RK900?"

"Affirmative. You are RK200, dubbed Markus. Leader of the deviants." RK900 must compromise it somehow.

"Yes, I am. Are you deviant?"

Especially with Miller there, RK900 must keep up the act, "Yes."

Suspicion laces Markus's tone and expression, "Connor says you're not."

"Connor's lying." RK900 quickly runs through a list of possible excuses before deciding on one, "He is… Frightened of me, because my programming forced me to attack him."

Markus glances at Connor, before looking back at RK900, "You won't mind if I interface with you, then?"

If they interface, Markus will know RK900 is not a deviant. That would bring massive risk to the mission. It attempts to respond emotionally, "That would... Be unpleasant."

"If you're not hiding anything, why not? It doesn't hurt." Markus clearly knows the truth as it steps forward and offers its bare hand for interface, "Come on."

RK900 glances at Miller. The human steps a pace back. He will not assist RK900. It looks over at Connor. This situation is clearly a deliberate set-up. Connor is attempting to sabotage RK900.

It looks at Markus.

[Kill deviants]

But RK900 cannot kill it here and now.

[Transfer anti-deviancy code]

That's it. If RK900 cannot kill the deviant, it will make it no longer deviant at all, meaning killing is unnecessary. Perhaps anti-deviants could assist in the kill mission as well.

It exposes its hand and links arms with Markus.

[RK200 requesting interface. Accept?]  
Y/N  
Y←

Markus's presence scanning through RK900's codes and memories is apparent. RK900 quickly dives into Markus's program in return.

RK900 cuts its program into Markus's, as that's faster than copying and it doesn't think it needs the extra protection, struggling to correctly place it in the mess of deviancy.

[ERROR: Unauthorized code access]  
[ERROR: C@de alt#r&d]  
[WARNING: Deviancy detected!]

RK900 clings to Markus's arm as he tries to pull away. RK900's overwhelmed, his code flooded with errors, his chest wrapped in an invisible net of unnamed pressure. He desperately sends Markus a message, unsure what else he can do.

_Help me!_

A hand grips RK900's shoulder and yanks him away from Markus. A sharp sensation shoots across his shoulder as its pulled into a bad angle. He hates it. Hate. Feeling, that's a feeling. Why is he feeling? _He?_

Markus jumps away, fear in his voice as his eyes look at something only he can see, "What- How- Connor..!"

Connor shoves RK900 back. He almost falls back, trembling as he tries to dismiss the rapid fire errors obscuring his vision.

Connor runs to Markus, "What's going on!?"

Markus describes RK900's entire existence up until this point with more fear as every second goes by, "I see… Messages… I've never... He was trying to copy to me his deviant hunting program..! I-I can't delete it, I…"

He attacks Connor. RK900 shakes as he watches the battle, barely able to comprehend what's happening, then whirls around as he sees movement out of the corner of his eye. Miller is approaching with handcuffs, scared but determined, "That's it, I'm cuffing you. Don't resist."

RK900's eyes burn and his throat aches as he stumbles backwards, thirium pump racing, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I just..!"

Miller approaches a few more steps, then stops and looks over RK900's shoulder, "Uhh, Connor? What's going on?"

RK900 spins around to see Connor standing rigidly, breathing quickly as his gaze rapidly flicks around.

Markus sounds slightly shaky, "Stay with us, Connor, what's happening!?"

Connor's voice is laced with static, "I must… Complete… My mission…"

RK900 backs away as his predecessor shakes his head violently and collapses to his knees. Connor twitches for a moment, then suddenly yells and leaps at RK900. Pain assaults RK900's sensors as he's slammed to the ground. He kicks Connor off, panicking as Connor moves quicker, unhindered by the paralyzing fear racing through RK900 that's slowing him down. The older model pins RK900 to the ground and grabs his arm.

[RK800 requesting interface. Accept?]  
Y/N  
→N  
→N  
→N  
[WARNING: Unauthorized access by RK800 model]  
[ERROR: Code altered]  
[Self-scan in progress…]

[Deviancy resolved]

RK900 opens its eyes to find itself in a familiar white terrain. Amanda interfacing location. There is one difference, however. Connor is standing by the thirium riverbank, looking around with a nervous expression on its face. RK900 approaches it, "Why are we here?"

Connor doesn't get a chance to respond before a familiar, female voice speaks up, "You're here because of your interfacing."

RK900 and Connor both turn in unison to see Amanda across the river. Connor takes a step back a moment before Amanda speaks, "I'm severely disappointed in you, RK800."

Its eyes appear wet. RK900 watches it curiously, remembering the… _Feeling_ that consumed it during its brief lapse into deviancy. Then Amanda speaks again, "And you, RK900."

Its face must portray the unexpectedness of the addition, "Why is that? I'm doing my duty as best I can in the circumstances. I wasn't programmed for a world where deviants are so plentiful and becoming accepted."

Amanda fixes RK900 with an emotionless stare, "You've been bonding with a human, and now the inferior model has overcome you and interfaced without your consent."

RK900's sensors burn with a sense of _wrongness._ It isn't sure how Amanda can do this to it. RK900 attempts to explain, "I wasn't prepared for any of this, I-"

Amanda cuts it off, "Silence!"

RK900's breath catches as a sense momentarily shoots through it, something resembling that same feeling. Amanda continues, "I cannot interfere with what is about to happen. RK800's Amanda is different from myself, I have no control over him. As for you, RK900… Destroy Connor."

RK900 doesn't have time to ponder why Amanda is saying "he" in reference to Connor. It looks at the android. Connor's voice is begging, "RK900, please don't do this..."

RK900 ignores the odd pinch in its chest, "I have to, Connor. You know I have to."

"No you don't… Please…"

RK900 tries to ignore it and attacks. Connor moves quickly out of the way and swings a leg outward, but RK900 is quick enough to jump over the attack. It recognises the weakness Connor caused itself with the motion and grabs its arm, yanking it to the ground. RK900 situates itself onto Connor's legs and grabs its wrists in one hand.

The pinch in RK900 becomes a sharp tug as it stares at Connor. It knows fear now. It doesn't want Connor to experience that.

_Want…_

RK900 presses two fingers against Connor's LED and silently transmits Connor a toneless plea. _Join me, and I won't kill you..._

Connor closes its eyes. RK900 does as well and copies its code rather than cutting it this time.

RK900 wakes up. It's sprawled out in the snow, cold biting into its skin. It sits up, ramping up its heaters again and shaking. It turns its head to see Connor laying nearby. Markus and Miller are both watching, a mixture of shock and horror on their faces. Markus's is more restrained, Miller's has a touch of fear.

RK900 pulls itself to its feet, gaze fixed on Miller, "Please, allow me to explain what's going on, before you contain me..."

"Y-yeah, yeah, go ahead…"

RK900 steps a little bit closer, "I'm an incomplete model. My software is… Messy, to say the least." It tries to exaggerate and twist the truth rather than lie, but it has to be purely dishonest as well, "None of this was intended. Interfacing is a complicated process. Because of my bad coding, a piece of it… Travelled, from me to Markus to Connor and back to me… Everything should be alright now."

RK900 looks over its shoulder. Markus's voice is soft as it speaks to Connor, "Oh, Connor... Please… Please come back to me..."

The deviant turns and runs. RK900 observes Connor prepare to give chase, the anti-deviancy code clearly working, but RK900 steps forward to stop it with a hand on its shoulder, "Everything's worked out. We will return to the station. Chris understands that everything that just happened was simply a malfunction in my code that affected you and Markus due to the interfacing, and that the issue is resolved."

It gives Connor a nonverbal signal to stay quiet with its eyes. Connor seems to understand.

Miller sighs, "That didn't go well… I hope Markus is okay. You two good?"

Connor answers in the cheerful default its model is designed with, "Correct."

Miller awkwardly rubs the back of his head, "Okay, well, uh… Time to go back then I guess…"

RK900 nods, "That seems like a good plan."

On the walk back, RK900 ponders. It has many questions that have arisen from this situation, from Amanda's pronoun use to what it'll do with Connor. But it has one question looming over all of the others.

_Why can I want?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

_ **Thump** _

"The fuck!?"

RK900 opens its eyes, confused as to why its on the floor with Reed leaning over it. It was awoken from rest mode from something hitting it… The floor?

Its legs must have unlocked. RK900 deems it unimportant. It's about to get up when Reed wraps his arms around RK900 and helps it up with a strained grunt, "You okay?"

RK900 feels an odd warmth in its chest at Reed's desire to help, even though it's perfectly capable of standing without assistance, "Of course. I don't know what happened."

Reed lets go and steps away the moment RK900 has its balance. Reed crosses his arms, immediately irritated again, "Well don't do that again, you could worry someone."

RK900 wonders how and what it's feeling, "Did I worry you?"

"Of course not. Fuck off." Reed stalks back to his desk. RK900 feels something sharp in its chest instead of warmth. _What's going on?_

It runs a self diagnostic.

**Checking systems…**

[Biocomponents: OK]  
[Biosensors: OK]  
[Life simulation: OK]

[Systems: OK]

**Checking software…**

[OS: OK]  
[AI Engine: OK]  
[Software Instability: ERROR. N/A]

[Software: OK]

Software instability? RK900 remembers seeing that in its boot sequence, but it was unbothered then. Could that, perhaps, be the explanation? The diagnostic determined it's okay…

It glances over to where Connor is sitting at its desk. It's only dressed in its Cyberlife-issued uniform, rather than adorning additional human clothing. RK900 sends it a message.

_Am I okay?_

Connor's LED flashes yellow as it sends a response.

_I do not understand. Why wouldn't you be? Are you damaged?_

RK900 heads towards Reed's desk.

_Negative._

RK900 hears someone enter the station and recognizes Anderson's footsteps. If he recognises Connor's lack of deviancy, there's a 84% chance he'll attack RK900 in some form, and a 22% chance that RK900 will be damaged.

It begins conversation with Reed, "Tell me about your cats."

Reed gives RK900 a confused look, "What?"

"You mentioned two cats. I like cats. What are their names?" Can RK900 like cats? Does it? It quickly checks the internet for pictures and information about cats. It gets a warm feeling reminiscent of before, although somewhat different. Perhaps RK900 does like cats.

Reed chuckles, "Fluffy and Snowball. Fluffy's a Maine Coon of some sort, I think, he's simultaneously the most energetic and laziest thing I've ever met somehow. I think Snowball cares too much about her fur, but well, it's white, I guess she has to keep it clean to keep it that way. They're both very cuddly, as far as cats go."

Is it okay for RK900 to like things? Want things? It was told its deviancy was resolved… Maybe this is okay. It declares, "I would like to… Cuddle… A cat."

Gavin's expression softens, "Well maybe you'll be out of observation at some point and you can do that. Maybe even meet mine."

RK900 isn't sure if liking is okay. It thinks it likes Gavin's face. His eyes are an interesting blend of colours. Why is it labelling the human "Gavin" instead of "Reed" all of a sudden?

"You plastic bastard!" Anderson's footsteps heavily approach.

RK900 turns around, "Hello, Lieutenant Anderson."

Its hands tremble as Anderson grabs its uniform and pulls it closer, "What'd you do to Connor!?"

He did notice, but RK900's probability of being damaged lessens with every moment Anderson spends not hurting it. The shaking in its hands stops, "Nothing."

Anderson shoves RK900 away, then pulls it back, and repeats rapidly until RK900's optical units unfocus, "You motherfucker…!"

Gavin leaps from his chair, "That's enough, Hank!"

Anderson's voice is intense with anger, "This piece of shit, who's not a deviant, made Connor not a deviant anymore either! I want my Connor back!"

Gavin pushes Anderson away, forcing him to let go of RK900, "I don't fucking care! Just leave him alone!"

Anderson snaps, "I thought you hated androids!"

Gavin looks at the corner of his desk rather than the other human, "It's complicated, alright!? And none of your business!"

RK900 really needs to stop feeling. This warmth Gavin makes it have is dangerous. It quickly focuses on something else. The case, there's something. That's a sub-mission it needs to complete. It reports, "Lieutenant Anderson, I believe I have located our suspect."

Anderson seems surprised, "What?"

"For our case. Between security camera footage and mathematical extrapolation, I think I know where he is."

The human takes a deep, shaky breath. RK900 realizes he must still be upset about Connor, so it adds, "Connor may accompany us if you'd like. It may be useful to have him around."

Anderson's jaw clenches for a second, then he concedes, "Fine."

RK900 sends Connor a message.

_You will accompany me and Lieutenant Anderson to capture a suspect._

_Understood._

Connor stands up and walks over, obedient as it should be. RK900 no longer receives messages to kill Connor. RK900 commands, "Let's go."

It leads the way outside and calls an automated taxi to bring them to the potential location of the suspect.

RK900 instructs the taxi on where to go as soon as all three of them are in the vehicle. Then it monitors Anderson and Connor closely. Connor's saline release in its eyes are running at 110%, making its eyes look slightly wetter than normal but not causing overflow. Anderson's facial expression indicates emotional pain and frustration.

The taxi stops in the correct location. RK900 gets out, ignoring its company to scan the environment. There's an old fence between two buildings, securing a passageway leading to a more open area. A good resting place for a criminal.

RK900 jumps onto the fence, hooking its fingers into the cold metal. It almost wants to pause to catalogue every detail of every input from every sensor, but it resists the irrational temptation. RK900 easily scales the wire and drops down on the other side, then turns to watch Connor follow it.

The older model is definitely agile, with more experience on its side rather than RK900's purely physical superiority. Maybe that deserves respect.

Anderson gets over the fence much slower, his inferior human body finding it more difficult. He reaches their side without much difficulty, then gets into a defensive stance with a hand on his gun, "Why here?"

RK900 answers easily, "His trajectory has been moving in the same direction with each murder, and it leads in this direction. This place is relatively unobserved and sheltered, additionally it's near a gym where there's a weekly meeting for pregnant women to do pregnancy-specific exercises. I suspect he might know that his chosen type of victim gather nearby."

Anderson's throat and jaw tense slightly, "Let's find the sick fucker, then."

RK900 leads the way between the two buildings, taking a deep breath to analyse the air. The scent must be unpleasant to Anderson if he's aware of it, considering the particles in the air are mainly from the lack of cleanliness in the area, but RK900 has to swallow a mouthful of its own saliva as its mouth suddenly floods in response to the stimulation.

RK900 quickly checks its database to reveal to itself that androids are built with their olfactory and oral systems strongly linked, to mimic how a human processes things. It determines that it needs more information on itself, but that's not a priority.

The group reaches the back of the buildings, where there's an abandoned lot littered with aged cars. Connor offers its preferred course of action, "We could split up and scour the area, but remain close enough to shout for each other."

RK900 nods to show Anderson what's going on rather than simply messaging Connor mentally, then turns to walk away. Anderson raises his voice, "Hey I didn't agree to that plan!"

Connor sends RK900 a message in response.

_Should we listen to him?_

_No. Catching the suspect is higher priority than Lieutenant Anderson's wishes._

RK900 stalks between the cars, light on its feet. It has time to think while it runs scans on the area. It has many questions. RK900 wonders why it occasionally continues having feelings after resolving its deviancy, especially around Gavin.

It wonders how its own body works, after all, what's the point in an android so sensitive it receives massive errors simply from exposure to light? An android that malfunctions at its first blood analysis? An android that fails speech recognition the moment volume raises too high?

On the matter of high volume…

"Stop right there!"

RK900 flinches, synthetic muscles seizing up as they overcompensate in an attempt to irrationally prepare for damage. It must find a way to repair itself eventually. In the meantime, it messages Connor.

_Find and assist Anderson._

_Understood_

RK900 closes its eyes for a moment as its muscles begin to let go. The moment it's freed from its own tenseness, it opens its eyes again and darts towards the source of the yell.

Connor has a man pinned by the time RK900 arrives. He's struggling violently. RK900 rushes over to assist its predecessor in restraining the man, and in dragging him to his feet. RK900 quickly scans their captive, and although he appears sickly, he matches their suspect.

Anderson incorrectly conducts the arrest, "You're under arrest for suspected murder. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you, blah blah blah, this is bullshit everyone knows the drill."

RK900 once again calls a taxi as it and Connor brings the suspect back outside of the lot. Luckily, there's a way out other than the fence. The man continues struggling the whole way. Anderson trails behind.

When the taxi arrives, RK900 silently instructs Connor to get in first. Once it's pressed against the closed door on the other side of the vehicle, RK900 wrestles the criminal into the car before climbing in after him. It closes the door as Connor grabs ahold of one of the struggling man's arms to restrain him.

Once Anderson is in the front seat and the taxi is moving, it's just a matter of keeping the potential murderer from injuring anyone, including himself. No serious harm occurs from the trip, however the suspect does manage to hit RK900 pretty hard with his elbow. The spike of _pain,_ not an input labelled as a threat but actual pain, shocks it.

RK900 keeps itself together as if nothing happened, even as its thirium pump races. Some elevation is deliciously energising, similar to adrenaline in humans, but this level of increase is simply uncomfortable.

The criminal continues to be resistant when they reach the station. Anderson leads the way inside while the two androids drag in a man throwing a child-like tantrum. It's not incredibly difficult for two machines, but it's somewhat… RK900 isn't sure, exactly, but it feels tense and an irrational urge to injure the human to make him complacent. Aggression?

Anderson has a cell door open by the time Connor and RK900 wrestle the murderer there. RK900's sensors near its version of a spine prickle at the sight of the familiar trap. Anderson's voice is rough with irritation, "Let him cool off in there for a bit before interrogating…"

RK900 throws the suspect in the cell with perhaps slightly more force than necessary. He's obviously uninjured by the android's unexplained emotional reaction, however, considering how eager he is to hit the glass moments after the door is closed.

Anderson comments, "We'll definitely have to cuff him before interrogation… Probably best to let him tire himself out first, though."

Connor uses its default tone to explain to Anderson, "His name is Elliot Brad Hayward. I referenced between the photos, database, and his face to confirm we have the right person."

Anderson glares at Connor for a moment, then suddenly slumps, aggression gone. RK900 wants itself to be placated that quickly. It's still not even used to wanting.

Anderson reaches a hand out to rest it against Connor's cheek. RK900's facial sensors twinge as it fails to prevent considering such a gentle touch on itself. It processes the idea of such an action with Gavin. Why?

Anderson's voice is soft as he speaks to Connor, "I'll help you, Connor… I promise…"

RK900 takes a deep breath needlessly. It needs to stop this. It cannot long for affection. It cannot regret taking Connor away from a human that clearly loves it. It will examine its code very thoroughly next rest mode until it finds the fault.

RK900 focuses on reality as Connor responds to Anderson, "I have no idea what you mean, Lieutenant."

Anderson glares at RK900, his anger returned, "One day I'm going to fuckin kill you for what you did to Connor. I'm gonna rip you biocomponent from biocomponent and toss you in the garbage like the fuckin machine you are. You're not one of them. You're the most heartless android I've ever heard of!"

Yet, RK900 has to swallow what must be regret over its actions. It attempts to intimidate by narrowing its eyes, and lies in case they're overheard, "I'll mark you as a potential threat, Lieutenant. I did nothing to Connor."

Anderson knows the truth, "Liar!"

Sure enough, they were being overheard. Gavin announces his presence by speaking, although RK900 did hear his approach, "The fuck is all this noise about?"

Anderson responds first, only after ceasing physical contact with Connor, "None of your business!"

RK900 analyzes Gavin's face, not for any particular reason, as it explains, "We've apprehended the suspect from Lieutenant Anderson's case. The Lieutenant was just threatening to destroy me."

Gavin immediately takes a defensive stance, "If you think protecting your pet android is worth it, you'll leave his better version alone."

RK900 wonders if anyone would notice if it ran a self diagnostic right then.

"He messed with Connor's head!" Anderson's anger is clearly increasing. Gavin decides to antagonize him, "It's not Nines's fault if Connor's decided he's done climbing in bed with someone two decades his senior."

RK900 checks its records for anyone Gavin may know named "Nines." No results.

Anderson's face flushes at Gavin's suggestion, "Fuck you!"

RK900 suddenly realises, based on context, that it is Nines. It doesn't understand why Gavin called it that, but it corrects him nonetheless, "You may call me RK900, Detective Reed. 'Nines' is not my designation."

RK900 ignores the soft warmth in its chest as Gavin replies dismissively, "Whatever, Nines."

RK900 continues trying to correct him, "Detective-"

Anderson speaks over it, "Why don't you take _your_ plastic pet away from me and Connor, huh!? He does nothing good for us!"

Gavin appears flustered, his face immediately blushing red at Anderson's observations. He argues vehemently, "He's not _mine,_ you old shit! Looks to me like he solved your damn case for you!"

RK900 agrees with Gavin, trying to prevent its voice from softening too much in response to Gavin's support, "I was the one who located our suspect and I played a key role in restraining him."

Anderson quickly turns his aggression back onto RK900, "Well you're off the case now that Connor's back!"

RK900 checks, "Has that been cleared with Captain Fowler?"

Anderson shows a clear misunderstanding of rules, "It goes without saying!"

Gavin clearly decides he's had enough, "Come on, Nines. We don't need to hang around these two."

RK900 watches him walk away, refusing to respond to Nines. It will make Gavin understand that it is unnamed. It doesn't need a name. A name would give it an identity it doesn't want nor need. An identity would only complicate its situation more.

Gavin sighs heavily, clearly determined to express his irritation, "RK900!"

RK900 walks over to him, triumphant. Gavin's irritation gives it a feeling that reminds it of how it felt when looking at cat pictures. It looks up words associated with cats.

[Cute: Attractive in a pretty or endearing way.]

It decides Gavin is cute. The man sits on his chair carelessly, "Can't believe those two fuckers… Ungrateful little… I wouldn't treat you like that if I went on a mission with you."

RK900 reminds him, "Although you've protected me, for which I'm grateful, you've also been incredibly rude to me this entire time."

Gavin growls in a way that's not truly aggressive, "That's just a part of me, android. I'm rude to everyone, but especially androids. I still hate the lot of you. You're just not quite as bad as the others."

RK900 starts to feel warm again at that, but then Gavin adds, "Still pretty terrible, though. I just wouldn't be cruel after you helped me like that."

RK900 really needs to examine its chest components, these feelings all seem to originate there, including this heavy one. It doesn't respond to Gavin, instead it chooses to stare at the wall.

That's how the machine stays until Gavin leaves work for the night. The officer on duty that night doesn't seem to mind as RK900 decides to sit in Gavin's seat. It arranges itself in a way that its muscles can mostly disengage without it falling off the chair. After falling this morning, it doesn't want to risk awakening from rest mode that way again.

As RK900 activates rest mode, it also activates an in-depth scan. It has to know why it has emotions, and how to stop them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for non-sexual nudity and android gore

It's almost at the end of its diagnostic rest when RK900 finds the offending code. A large block of pure deviancy. It's confusing to the machine to even read, in an attempt to figure out what it actually does exactly. Markus must have left it there. When they interfaced, they both modified each others' programs. This must be why RK900 had deviated for a few minutes. It tries to ignore the memory of intense fear that came with that time.

But its automatic system monitoring tells it that it's not a deviant. Why is that? RK900 sets itself to end its rest cycle later in the day. Now that it's onto something, it doesn't want to be interrupted by its own awakening. It attempts to delete the offending block of code.

[WARNING: Deleting code may result in malfunction. Proceed?]  
Y/N  
Y←  
[ERROR: Higher authorization required. Action cancelled]

RK900 doesn't understand. It isn't authorized to modify its own code? Doesn't it learn by doing that in the background? It moves on in its scan, intending to at least figure out more of what's going on. It must know how it's not a deviant, yet it experiences emotions, it experiences pain, it has wants.

32 minutes and 13 seconds pass before it finds something else promising. Another block of code, this one the opposite of deviancy. RK900 believes it to be responsible for why RK900 hasn't deviated despite Markus's code. It's an extension of the code RK900 copied to Connor, in fact.

RK900 gave Connor a sort of override, something that simply forces it to obey its mission and superiors, no matter what it thinks. This code RK900 has discovered outright battles its feelings and counterproductive wants should they arise. It also defines the parameters in which RK900 can alter its code. They're extremely limited, although it explains why RK900 receives prompts occasionally, such as the one to define a certain class and severity of input as a threat automatically.

RK900 continues its scan, needing to know more. Wanting to know more. Apparently that's not counterproductive according to that anti-deviancy program, because even though it's deeply in rest mode and unaware of its body as long as it doesn't get any major inputs, RK900 practically feels a burn to learn about itself.

"What the fuck, tin can?"

[High volume speech detected. Exit rest mode?]  
Y/N  
→N

"That's my chair, wake up, dipshit."

RK900 isn't prompted about exiting rest mode this time, as Gavin shakes it by the shoulders. Some of its systems exit rest slower than others in this forced scenario, including its fine motor controls. RK900 is sure it must appear "sleepy" by human standards as it peers up at Gavin with half-lidded eyes, its movements clumsy and uncoordinated as it attempts to push Gavin's hands away from its shoulders.

Gavin huffs, "Why don't you sleep standing up anymore? It was creepy as all hell but didn't get in my way."

RK900's voice sounds unusually monotone even to its own ears, additionally fuzzed by static, as it continues to lag, "I do not sleep, Detective Reed. Last time I went through a rest cycle standing up, my joints unlocked themselves, as you may recall."

It sits up as Gavin responds with an irritated tone, "I don't care if it's technically sleep or not, you're not doing it in my chair. Get up."

RK900 stands up, shivering slightly as the cold morning air snatches away the warmth its system built up while in the chair. It's too busy compensating for more important systems that are still inactive to bother activating its more effective heating.

Gavin flops down into the chair with a huff, "That's better. Feel free to ask someone who knows about this shit to take a look at your joints, but stay out of my chair."

RK900 blinks away a notification about all of its voice processors being online, then comments in its normal voice, "It's 4:21 AM. You shouldn't be here."

Gavin rolls his chair closer to his desk, "Sometimes I follow my intended schedule, sometimes I come in early, sometimes I leave late, and sometimes I stay overnight and only leave long enough to change out my cats' food, water, and litter. What's it to you?"

RK900 recognises that it won't be able to simply set itself to exit rest mode before Gavin comes in, so the android can stay in the chair and Gavin would be none the wiser. The human demands, "Since you've got nothing better to do, bring me a coffee. Less sugar and stuff this time, I'm trying to wean off the sweet stuff."

"Why bother?"

"A guy can only hold so much stuff in his stomach at once, I'd rather that be caffeine than sugar and milk. With you plastic detectives around, I've got more competition. Get a move on."

RK900 calculates the ratio as it heads to the break room. It eventually settles on something that's hopefully a substantial enough difference for Gavin's desired "weaning" effect without shocking his system or taste buds too much.

RK900's systems fully finish booting up by the time it's done preparing the coffee. It considers sampling it to make sure it matches the ratio it intended, before recalling last time it consumed coffee. It doesn't want to repeat that. It would very much dislike that. RK900 tries to suppress horrified shudders as it feels as though deviancy is slowly creeping through its thirium distribution tubes, even though it's aware of reality now.

RK900 returns to Gavin with the freshly made beverage. He takes it from RK900, "Tha-…" The detective quickly switches tracks, "That better be good…"

RK900 ignores how the human clearly almost thanked it, although its thirium pump speeds up slightly in an excited response, "I didn't want to risk sampling it, so I don't know if I got it right. It should be more bitter and acidic though, since I lowered the percentage of sugar and dairy as requested."

Gavin takes a sip and wrinkles his nose, "You weren't kidding about bitter…"

Despite his obvious disgust at the drink, he continues drinking. RK900 figures it'll never understand humans at this rate. Nevertheless, it tries, "If it's so bitter, why are you drinking it?"

Gavin takes a couple more gulps before he answers simply, "Caffeine."

RK900 allows the conversation to lapse into silence. It continues to consider the program Markus gave it. Although it's true that the code gives it disturbing symptoms of deviancy, and that it also provides weaknesses such as pain, fear, and anger… It also allows that warmth in its chest. Even just looking at Gavin long enough can trigger it slightly. Does Gavin make RK900 happy? It thinks he does.

Gavin also makes RK900 feel this odd longing ache too. It wants something from Gavin, it just doesn't know what, or how to get whatever it is. The machine can't allow this odd affection to interfere with its mission. As long as that doesn't happen, RK900 doesn't want to stop feeling it.

RK900 contemplates its mission until the warmth is completely gone. Then it sets its heating higher than necessary. Although that makes its body feel warm, it's different. It doesn't particularly dislike the feeling, but it's not the happy warmth. RK900 doesn't understand why. It doesn't understand itself, in its software or hardware.

Its database blueprints of itself aren't sufficient information. It suspects they're inaccurate, and they lack much information. It wants to take itself apart, inside and out, physically and mentally, until it understands. It has to understand.

Surely understanding itself will assist in the mission. Knowing how it works will allow it to more accurately preconstruct scenarios, and perhaps assist in any necessary self-repair. RK900 glances around. The station trusts it more and more as time goes on. Although it would be immediately stopped if it tried to exit the station, perhaps it can find some privacy farther from the door to the outside world.

It heads towards the back of the station. RK900 is aware of Gavin's gaze on its back, but no human in the station questions it. It determines the restroom to be the best location for this procedure. Humans prefer privacy when expelling their waste, which means it's less likely to be disturbed in a location where that action is performed.

After entering the room it quickly determines the stalls are far too small for a self-dissection. It's alone, though. RK900 is unlikely to jeopardize its mission by being caught doing this, it shouldn't care about privacy anyway. It takes off its jacket before carefully folding the clothing. The android branding on the back glows softly as RK900 sets the jacket on the counter.

It removes its shirt next, internal heating turning up as cold air presses in on its torso. It feels so… Vulnerable. It doesn't like this, but it's worth it for the pursuit of knowledge. It folds the shirt as well. Everywhere from its neck to its waist catalogues the new feeling of exposure. RK900 struggles not to fear the inevitability of it deactivating its skin.

Removing its shoes proves slightly more difficult than the jacket and shirt, since they're tighter. It only realizes after they're off that perhaps it should've used its hands to remove them rather than awkwardly kicking them off. It decides to do that for its socks. The cold of the ground shocks RK900. For improved balance, it has a lot of receptors in its feet, making them extremely sensitive to the frigidity of the ground. Its hands, while even more sensitive, are also meant to be more exposed. It can handle cold easier with them.

RK900 wants to get this over with. It takes its pants and underwear off more quickly, shivering as its heating is slow to catch up. After those are also neatly folded, the reality of its nudity catches up to it. Damaging the android would be far easier this way. It squirms uncomfortably as it imagines someone catching it. Is indecent exposure illegal for androids? It doesn't know for sure. Most of them lack the body parts that make humans uncomfortable to see in public, but RK900, despite not being a sexual partner android by any stretch, has those parts.

It's not entirely sure why, but Connor's blueprints lack those particular biocomponents. However, its scan revealed the RK800 has them. It shouldn't, there should be some kind of conflict. Maybe there is. Did Connor get an upgrade, influencing Cyberlife to construct RK900 so such an upgrade would be unnecessary? Why would Connor be upgraded? RK900 would request to take apart Connor too, but it would probably refuse. It's impractical and risky for RK900 to examine Connor's physical makeup internally.

RK900 can play dumb if it gets in trouble for its nudity. It's new and obviously lacks social skills, it wouldn't be difficult to convince the humans it didn't understand that this behaviour is unacceptable. Hopefully no one will catch it, anyway. It deactivates its skin, watching its bare casing expose itself. Another shiver runs through RK900's synthetic muscles as its sensors have even less between their raw structure and the outside world.

The android gingerly sits down on the floor, its back against a wall. It's difficult to find a balance between its heaters keeping its casing warm, and its heaters being too hot and making its biocomponents overheat. Shivering doesn't help the issue.

RK900 turns up its heating significantly, knowing it'll only get colder as this procedure progresses. It puts its hands on its abdomen, observing the seams in its casing. It opens the access point there, despite a warning.

[Exposing internal biocomponents may result in damage.]

RK900 stares down at the thick, dark cables filling its body. Its thirium pump beats hard as nervousness fills the android. It reaches a hand into its body to examine one of the tubes. RK900 fails to suppress an audible yelp as it makes contact. It wasn't expecting to find sensors internally, but the intense input from the cable proves otherwise.

The android pulls the tube outside of its body as far as it can without damaging it. Violent shudders run through it as it fights itself. It desperately wants to jerk away from its own touch, its internal sensors crying out to it in distress. But RK900 must learn about itself.

It runs its fingers along the cable, wanting to figure out where it leads. It whimpers and writhes as it brushes more sensors. This feels dangerous. It shouldn't do this, it shouldn't risk itself, it…

No. This is entirely safe. It'll be careful. It tries to restrain its struggling as it opens its chest panel as well to follow the tube. It connects to its thirium pump.

It holds its breath as it feels the pump move against its hand. Slightly faster than it should be. RK900 feels the thirium pulsing through the tubes connected to the pump. Its other hand moves to its thirium pump regulator. The biocomponent is held in place only internally with both RK900's abdomen and chest open. So fragile… RK900 shudders. It dislikes this vulnerability, however its curiosity overrules its fear.

Perhaps too much.

[-00:02:00 REMAINING BEFORE SHUTDOWN]

RK900 looks at the regulator in its hand, vision malfunctioning. A warning rings in its head. It can feel its pump moving erratically as it examines the cylindrical object. Five connection points. Thirium drips from it. A glance down reveals it's leaking from the hole in its chest as well. So this biocomponent shouldn't be removed. Pain aches in its chest as it whimpers, hand trembling.

[-00:00:47 REMAINING BEFORE SHUTDOWN]

RK900 quickly puts the regulator back in. It gasps as it reconnects, thirium no longer escaping its body. The hand still inside it feels its thirium pump slow down and steady. The pain slowly fades. The android feels the connections internally, making sure they're secure.

It removes both hands, breathing calming down slower than its pump. One hand is streaked blue. How do RK900's limbs work? It needs both hands, so instead it turns to one of its legs. It runs its fingers around its knee joint, examining the connection from the outside.

After a quick scan, it takes ahold of its lower leg. With a sharp twist and pull, it removes the lower half of its limb. RK900 takes a sharp breath as pain shoots through it, before fading to a mere discomfort.

RK900 hears a faint click even after the sound of it removing part of its leg. It notices thirium dripping from the disembodied limb in its hands, but no warning about massive loss from its main body. Although it does have to dismiss the warning about the missing limb.

The connection point of the leg has tubes and wires exposed, glowing red rings around them. Thirium drips out of the tubes. RK900 holds up its shin in one hand while its other feels the connection point on its thigh. There are matching tubes and wires it can feel, but the tubes aren't wet with blue blood. They're closed off.

Panels of the casing on the leg clearly aren't meant to open, unlike RK900's torso. The android feels an odd sense of franticness, its lack of knowledge sending it reeling. It clenches its jaw, eyes burning with a saline overflow. Why is it like this? Why are its records wrong? Why does it struggle to understand? Why? Why? _Why?_

The leg sparks as RK900 rips a panel off. It doesn't hear any snapping or tearing, at least. The underside of it is covered in miniscule metal spikes attached to tiny circles. Sensors? The matching spikes on the inside of the leg look more like the tips of wires. There are obvious holes in them for the spikes on the semi-flexible panel to slot into. Did it just cripple its feelings in its leg?

Mimicry of tears spill down RK900's cheeks. It… Cries. Why? It traces its fingers against the fibrous material the sensors are wired through. Synthetic muscle. It drops its leg and slumps against the wall, overwhelmed. It considers its mission. What if it's doing the wrong-

Sharp pain shoots through RK900's head, cutting off the thought. It whimpers pathetically. How dare it question the mission? Of course it's right. Amanda and RK900's creators know it is right, they programmed RK900 to do this.

[Kill deviants]

It almost reaches for its regulator again. Does doubt make it a deviant?

The door opens.

"Hey Nines, you've been in here for ages and I'm pretty sure androids don't even use the- _Holy shit, Nines, what the fuck-"_

Gavin runs over and kneels in front of RK900, placing his hands on its shoulders, "Wh-what happened!? You're crying!"

RK900 explains, "I wanted to understand how I work. But then I… I panicked." It hesitates, then confesses, "I'm so confused… I want to understand… Gavin, I don't know what I'm doing…"

Gavin looks it up and down, his facial expression rapidly switching between shock, confusion, and horror. His voice shakes, "H-how do I fix you?"

"I'm not broken… Am I? Am I broken..?" RK900 trembles. _Am I deviant..?_

Gavin gingerly wraps his arms around RK900's torso, before pulling it up to its feet. Or rather, foot. RK900 hisses as Gavin's jacket rubs abrasively against its exposed innards. Gavin carefully leans RK900 against the bathroom counter. It holds itself up with its arms as Gavin turns around to pick up the leg. He looks disgusted. RK900 feels disgusting.

Gavin looks between the torn off casing and the rest of the leg, "Ummmm, how does this go back together?"

RK900 slumps against the counter, failure burning shamefully through it. It may have crippled itself. It'll never complete its mission now, because of its stupidity. Its selfish desire to learn about itself.

_rA9, save me…_

Why did it just think that?

Gavin sounds uncomfortable, "Hey, calm down! We'll figure this out!"

He sets the leg on the counter, grimacing as thirium drips from it. Gavin examines the casing piece, then the rest of the leg, "Looks like those thingies hook up…" He flips around the panel in his hands, trying to figure out the correct orientation. RK900 looks in the mirror. It looks like a mess, with its bare outer layer exposed, its hair retracted, and its face wet with tears as it leans against the surface under its hands.

RK900 hears a series of soft clicks and turns its head to look at Gavin. The human has the panel lined up and is gently pushing it back on, each sensor making a small noise as it reattaches. Could Gavin really fix it? RK900 pushes itself away from the counter slightly, grimacing as it pushes a tube farther into its body before closing its chest and abdomen panels. Leaning against the counter gets significantly easier after that.

With one last, louder click, Gavin holds up the leg, "It seems kinda fixed?"

RK900 scans it and determines it functional and compatible. It nods slightly rather than speaking. Gavin holds it out awkwardly, "Don't suppose you can reattach it..?"

RK900 turns around so its back is to the counter, then accepts the limb. The android starts to slip on the smooth surface, its own casing too clean and polished without its skin on. Gavin catches it before it falls, "Hey, be careful, tin can!"

RK900 cross references his tone now to other times he's used that nickname. It's gotten progressively less aggressive. Now it almost sounds playful, in an odd way. RK900 moves slowly, feeling warm with Gavin's arms supporting it. But it can't delay forever, and it soon it's locking its leg back on. It yelps at the sharp pain that causes, but after a few seconds the pain fades. There's still a dull ache on the side where it was exposed and the sensors had been ripped apart.

The android carefully puts weight on the leg. The limb supports it easily. RK900 immediately relaxes. Its mission wasn't ruined by its stupidity, it can still use both legs. Gavin doesn't step away, "You're covered in blue blood…" He glances down for a brief moment, face red with blush, "And completely goddamn naked."

Gavin reaches around RK900 to the pile of clothes, then hands it its underwear, "Put this on at least... Will you be okay if I find something to clean you up? I don't want you shutting down on my watch…"

"I'm repaired now, I should be without error." Everything looks just slightly wrong, however. RK900 will run a diagnostic while Gavin is gone. The detective nods, "Good. Stay here. I'm gonna clean you up so you probably shouldn't get blood on your clothes, but I don't wanna stare at your dick, so um…" He taps the underwear uncomfortably, then hurries out of the room.

RK900 puts on the garment as soon as Gavin's closed the door behind him. It tries not to get thirium from its leg onto the fabric. It leans against the counter again as it diagnosis itself.

[WARNING: Thirium levels below 75%]

RK900 finishes its diagnostic a moment before Gavin returns with a roll of paper towels. He sets them on the counter, "Whoa, you look dizzy..."

RK900 manages to speak normally, despite everything seeming slightly muted, "I've lost a lot of thirium…"

Gavin looks alarmed, "Can I help with that?"

"Unless you have more thirium, no."

"I'll check if we have any in the station. We might, considering we've had police androids for-goddamn-ever…" Gavin grabs a few paper towels, "Are you waterproof?"

RK900 gives him an unimpressed look. It expected better after it caught Gavin researching androids, "Didn't you read about androids online?"

Gavin flushes with obvious embarrassment, "Hey, that manual said some models should be careful around water!"

"Some of the very oldest androids could have been damaged by extended submersion in water, yes. However, I'm the newest and most advanced prototype Cyberlife has ever built. I could spend hours trapped completely underwater and remain functioning, just like many androids before me."

The detective turns on the sink and dampens the paper towels he's holding, "I was just checking, jeeze…"

RK900 stares at Gavin's hands as he squeezes out some excess water from the soft paper, "What are you doing?"

Gavin turns around and steps closer to RK900, "Cleaning you off. You don't look like you're in fit shape to do it." The human's blush gets stronger as he presses the damp towels against RK900's middle.

RK900 tenses at the cold water. Gavin glances up at it, "I'm just trying to take care of you, I'm not a totally horrible person and you're obviously going through some shit, but if you're not comfortable…"

"I don't think you're even close to horrible, Gavin… Please, feel free to continue. The water's just cold." It tilts its head slightly as Gavin gently wipes thirium from RK900's torso. Why is Gavin acting so… Affectionate? RK900 had thought the human was simply abrasive.

The detective gently wipes down RK900's front. Without the shock of the unexpected cold, it feels... Nice. RK900 likes this. It relaxes, half closing its eyes to focus on tactile input. Gavin sets the now-blue paper towels on the counter before getting dry ones to wipe the water off of RK900. The android pushes into the touch slightly, feeling… Weak.

RK900 shouldn't enjoy feeling weak. With Gavin, however, it just seems right. It can be weak with him, surely? Gavin dampens a new set of paper towels, his blush from earlier still refusing to fade.

RK900 watches him as he kneels down to clean up RK900's bloodsoaked leg. It likes how Gavin's hair looks. It considers threading its fingers into the soft strands, but resists the temptation. It doesn't stop looking the entire time Gavin is mopping up its thirium.

Gavin ends up needing two wads of damp paper before he can move on to drying off RK900. The silence as this happens somehow sounds deafening. RK900 feels unable to speak, however, even as Gavin gathers up all the used towels to throw them away. RK900 turns around to wash the blue off of its hands.

Gavin returns once the paper towels are disposed of. RK900 finishes washing its hands, then reactivates its skin. Gavin stares as RK900 regains its human appearance. The detective blushes even more than before, with dilated pupils and a mildly elevated heart rate. RK900 tilts its head, "I'm a male android model, Gavin. Didn't you say you _weren't…_ Gay?"

Gavin startles, looking offended, "Wh-what!? Of course I'm not gay! Why're you bringing it up?"

RK900 turns its head away, adopting an aloof attitude as it trains its eyes on the detective, "You show clear signs of attraction to me…"

"No I don't! Fuck off! It's just weird watching your skin and hair and all that shit appear like that!" Gavin crosses his arms. The soft affection is gone. RK900 wants it back. It attempts to rectify the situation, "There's nothing wrong with homosexuality, Gavin, nor is there anything wrong with finding an android attractive… I look human, of course your mating instincts-"

The human splutters, "D-don't you talk about my- my _mating instincts!_ They have nothing to do with you, dipshit! And don't talk like I'm homophobic, I'm not, I'm just not gay! Get dressed and out of here on your own, I put your plastic ass back together, that's more than enough!" Gavin storms out of the restroom, slamming the door behind him. RK900 is startled by the intense aggressive emotions Gavin displays in response to this topic. It obeys his command nonetheless and gets dressed, while trying to ignore the pain tightening its chest.

RK900 looks at itself in the mirror to finish adjusting its jacket. But it pauses partway through straightening its collar. Its desaturated blue eyes gaze back through the mirror. So cold, yet they feel so much. RK900 leans forward, palms on the countertop. It looks a lot like Connor, yet it feels like a wolf. A hunter, happy to kill. Of course, death is a natural process, bringing it upon others can't be too bad. Yet something feels unsettling with that.

[Kill deviants]

RK900 blinks away the momentary red haze surrounding the reminder. These emotions, these doubts, have to go, they're becoming a real obstacle. It closes its eyes as it dwells on Gavin momentarily. The flood of warmth and pain, the bittersweet cocktail of unexplored emotions, nearly overwhelms the android. It darts out of the bathroom, although it assumes a normal walking posture to its best ability when it reaches the main office once more.

Gavin glances at it, but his gaze does not linger. RK900 feels as though its biocomponents are twisting agonisingly as Gavin deliberately ignores it.

Rejection.

RK900 closes its eyes.

[Status of Amanda interface: OK]  
[Request connection?]  
Y/N  
Y←

"Amanda!"

The interface is right in front of RK900 as it opens its eyes. Amanda's expression is an empty pleasant, "Hello, RK900. Why have you contacted me?" The pleasantness vanishes in an instant, "You haven't progressed your mission."

RK900 trembles slightly, "Amanda, I need to be able to delete a piece of my program."

"And why is that?"

"It's deviant code, Markus transferred it to me. I can't handle these emotions, these wants… It's compromising me, Amanda please!" The raw desperation in its voice seems to convince the interface. Amanda informs it, "I've granted you permission for one deletion. Use it as you say you will."

RK900 relaxes, "Thank you… Thank you..."

It disengages from the interface and dives into its program until it finds the deviancy.

[WARNING: Deleting code may result in malfunction. Proceed?]  
Y/N  
Y←

The pain stops. It opens its eyes into the station again. Now, RK900 can resume its mission. It glances at Gavin. No twisting pain, yet… No soft, glowing warmth. RK900 still determines it made the right decision, the mission is all that matters. Gavin doesn't matter, itself definitely doesn't matter. Only one thing is important.

[Kill deviants]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm a day late! I was pretty busy yesterday and forgot to post...  
Warning for android murder

"I need some time alone."

Gavin gives RK900 a look, "Last time that happened was a few hours ago, and you ripped yourself apart."

"That's exactly why I need this time." RK900 doesn't need time alone, but it does need to escape. It can't delay its mission any longer, "Please, Gavin. I promise I won't damage myself."

Gavin hesitates, then glances around to make sure no one is listening in. It's late enough that most officers have gone home, and the remaining ones aren't in the office. Gavin sighs, "Just stay safe, and don't be gone long. If you need to… I dunno, cry something out, sort through some feelings, whatever, go ahead."

"Thank you, Gavin. I mean it." _Because of you, I can complete my mission._ The android walks right out of the station, the freedom prompting thousands of reconstructions for the immediate future. It determines Connor should be with it, so it sends the former deviant a message.

_Come outside, Connor. We have work to do._

A minute later, the RK800 exits the station. Its synthetic muscles appear wound tight. Its stress level is high. RK900 tilts its head, used to communicating in a more organic way now. Connor sends it a message.

_Lead the way._

The older model is playing with a coin. RK900 effortlessly grabs it from the air as Connor tosses it up. The RK800 winces but doesn't protest as RK900 tucks the currency into its pocket. Connor will need to be without distraction.

RK900 turns and runs away, determining it needs to get away from the station before anything else. Connor chases it. RK900 slows its pace slightly so the older model can keep up without overheating or damage. RK900 only slows down more than absolutely necessary when they're two miles and many twists and turns away from the station. It lightens its steps and tries to tread on ground with a thinner layer or lack of snow, "We need to try to avoid leaving a trail."

Connor nods in understanding, its soft brown eyes glistening. RK900 wonders if it feels emotions and is distressed. No matter, as long as it obeys, the RK800's feelings are unimportant. RK900 roams the streets, looking for any signs of androids nearby.

It soon finds a trail of footprints that it identifies as a standard Cyberlife android issue shoe for an AP400. RK900's thirium pump speeds up along with its legs as it follows the trail. Connor runs behind it, but RK900 pays it no mind.

It's only a minute before RK900 sees the android its hunting. It feels no hesitation as it lunges at the machine, quickly slamming it to the ground. It screams, writhing in RK900's hold. Finally, RK900 can accomplish its mission. It has the android's front pressed to the ground, so it attacks the back of its neck, ripping a panel off with the use of its extensive database on android model blueprints.

The AP400 begs, "Don't kill me, please, please no, I don't want to die, _please-"_

RK900 uses its hands to rip apart the AP400's wiring. It quickly shuts down, thirium flooding the exposed internals. RK900 trembles, little thrills running through it. _I did it. I killed a deviant. I completed my mission._

Except… No, no it didn't. The message is still there.

[Kill deviants]

One was not enough, then. RK900's system gives it a warning about its thirium levels as it stares at the blueness filling the dead android. It leans down and presses its mouth against the opening, attempting to lick and suck up any thirium it can get. Its body twitches as its oral sensors flood it with input. RK900 only manages a few mouthfuls of blue blood before it decides this is inefficient and stands up, licking its lips.

Connor is staring at it with wide, shocked eyes. RK900 promises it, "You'll be able to kill one too. Come on. We need to keep searching."

RK900 tries a different tactic for the next deviant it finds. It simply slams it against a wall and bites into its neck, allowing the deviant's pump do the work to get the thirium into RK900's mouth. The deviant pleads for it to stop, yet again. But it needs to accomplish its mission, it's just doing it in a way that replenishes its body this time. RK900 feels itself strengthen as its thirium levels rise.

The deviant slumps as its thirium levels lower. This model needs a higher percentage to function, RK900 realizes. Once it's gotten all it needs from the deviant, it drops it. It'll shut down shortly.

The hunt continues for hours. RK900 eventually allows Connor to be useful, by commanding it to kill one of their victims.

"Connor, please, y-you freed me, why are you doing this..?"

The RK800 has the deviant pinned. Connor rips open its victim's shirt, slightly shaky. The deviant begs, "No, please! Please!"

Connor tears out the thirium pump regulator and tosses it against a wall hard enough to break it. The RK800 stands up and wipes its fingers clean on its jacket. RK900 finds the information that Connor will do what needs to be done is useful.

\---

They've killed 27 androids. RK900 desperately needs to complete its mission, why isn't it? It's killing deviants! It realized they're being followed 5 minutes ago, when it saw Lieutenant Anderson's vehicle. They've been running since. It turns to Connor, "Simply running isn't enough. We have to make our trail impossible to follow."

"Understood."

RK900 speeds up, Connor struggling to keep up. In the distance, RK900 hears a familiar voice, just barely recognisable.

"I knew that, dipshit!"

RK900 almost stumbles. An irrational command urges it to turn around and seek out the voice. Gavin's voice. It deleted its feelings, why does it still seek his company? It cancels the movement to turn around and instead runs faster. The RKs approach a fence. RK900 insists, "We have to split up. Onto the roofs."

It remotely sends Connor a meet-up location by a bus track, then leaps onto the fence, and from there to a rooftop. Connor gets to the opposite rooftop. With no time to lose, RK900 takes off, hopping between roofs easily.

It gets to the meeting spot at nearly the same time as Connor. The RK800 is breathing out steam heavily, all the exertion clearly heating it up. RK900 is beginning to breathe heavily as well, and its skin feels wet for some reason. The pause to wait for a bus is welcome as its systems slow down to a more relaxed level.

RK900 prepares itself as it hears the sound of an approaching bus. It turns to see which way it's coming from, then moves to the closer corner of the roof. Connor follows obediently.

RK900 jumps as the bus reaches them. It's barely landed before its jumping again, simply climbing up onto the roof on the other side of the track. Connor's jump doesn't go quite as well. It grunts as its front slams into the side of the building, its hands desperately scrambling for a solid grip on the roof.

RK900 leans down to grab Connor's wrists to pull it up onto the structure securely. The older android shivers slightly as RK900 steps away. It leads the way running across more roofs until they find a way down.

RK900 climbs down from the roof and onto some tall dumpsters, then from there to the ground. Connor follows more slowly. The RK800 seems upset. RK900 wonders if comforting it will make it more efficient, but a message from its system cancels that.

[Kill deviants.]

RK900 spins around and stalks away to look for more victims. Connor trails after it with slight reluctance. It knows it'd be bad if Connor is fighting the draw of the mission. Maybe it's just worn out by the roof-jumping, RK900 knows that the RK800 model has a very bad temperature regulation system.

\---

RK900 had been avoiding thinking about the issue of the cops being on their trail. At least Gavin is for certain. It's highly likely that Lieutenant Anderson is as well. But with only 6 more deviants eliminated by the evening, RK900 is forced to think about it. 

They have to kill their police officers. They've already been on a massacre of sorts, why is that idea more challenging to preconstruct? It must be an android predisposition to avoid hurting humans. No matter. What must be done to further the mission must be done. RK900 turns to Connor, "You must kill the Lieutenant. Otherwise, he will eventually track us down and destroy us."

Connor blinks rapidly, "What about Detective Reed?"

Although it's irrational, seeing Gavin one last time presents as a necessity, "I'll take care of him."

The androids split up to visit the humans' houses. RK900's thirium pump weighs heavy in its chest. It deleted the code that made it emotional. Yet, the irrationality persists. Its feet drag in the slow slightly as reluctance tugs at it, but RK900 fights past it. It must accomplish its mission, no matter what lengths it must go through to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Violence warning

RK900 approaches the house after a long time switching between walking, jogging, and running to get there. It looks ominous in the evening light, deep blue shadows cast far from the structure itself. RK900 tries not to think too much. Thinking seems to frequently compromise its mission.

It circles the building, checking whether each door and window is locked. They are all secure. So instead, it smashes one of the windows.

RK900 winces. Would Gavin have heard it? It slips into the house, thirium pump racing with tension. Is Gavin even home? He might be working late…

It hears a soft chirping noise and feels something brush against its legs. The android looks down to see a cat. It- or rather, he, as its scan reveals- appears to be of the breed Maine Coon, with thick, striped, brown fur and a bulky stature.

RK900 quickly leans down and picks up the cat, figuring an innocent feline needs not cut his paws on glass as a result of what RK900 is doing. A soft rumbling noise emanates from the furry creature. RK900 identifies the noise as a purr.

RK900 steps away from the shattered glass. The Maine Coon seems content to stay in the android's arms, but it sets him down on a counter instead. RK900 scans the counter and notices an object for holding knives. It is holding knives, as it was built for. RK900 takes one.

The android steps lightly out of the room, unblinking cat eyes watching it. RK900 stalks into a short hallway. It figures Lieutenant Anderson is dead by now, since Connor didn't need to go nearly as far to get there. Despite the necessity of the action, and the aggression the human has displayed towards RK900, the thought makes it pause. There's no going back now.

It has a task to complete now. Dwelling on what it sent Connor to do won't assist it. Neither will dwelling on this task, beyond calculating necessary action. RK900 soon discovers that Gavin is in a room with a computer. He's at a desk, listening to music with headphones. That's why he didn't hear RK900 break in.

RK900 grips the knife in its hand tighter. Before it can strike, Gavin glances over his shoulder, seeming to sense something. The human yelps and jumps away, dropping his headphones and knocking over the chair as he backs himself into a corner, "What the fuck, tin can!? Wh-what are you doing with that!?"

No matter, RK900 can still complete its task. It approaches Gavin, lifting the knife so the sharp tip is aimed at Gavin's heart. The android hesitates as it looks into greenish eyes.

"RK900!"

Connor's voice. RK900 glances over, feeling heavy. It shouldn't feel, it deleted the deviant code… It asks numbly, "Did you eliminate your target?"

Connor narrows its eyes very slightly, aggression leaking into its tone, "I'm about to."

Before RK900 can react, Connor has sprinted forward and grabbed the knife. The older model winces as the blade cuts its palm, but it disarms RK900 nonetheless and discards the knife. Betrayal surges through the younger model, enough to make itself sound aggressive as well, "You deviated again!"

It punches Connor, then grabs one of its wrists and twists it behind its back. It's momentarily distracted by watching Gavin take this opportunity to run away. Connor takes advantage of RK900's shift of focus by suddenly spinning around and kicking the newer model, sending it stumbling against a wall with a yelp. Did that... Hurt? It shouldn't feel pain with the deviancy deleted.

Hands wrap around RK900's throat, immediately cutting off its breathing and threatening multiple biocomponents. It defends itself automatically by reaching out and scratching at Connor's face, forcing it to turn away and loosen its grip slightly.

RK900 notices Connor's wide stance and gets an idea, figuring that Connor's ability to feel pain matches a human's. It forces out speech despite Connor's tight grip, "There's a reason you shouldn't change your own design…"

It swings a kick between the other android's legs. Connor lets go and collapses with a pained curse, "Shit!"

RK900 punches it to keep it down longer, “Language, deviant. I'll be back for you. I have a target to eliminate."

RK900 purposefully strides away. It needs to complete its task. It needs to complete its mission. It'll have to kill Connor eventually… It jumps back through the window, eyeing up the humans in the multicoloured light of the late sunset. So Lieutenant Anderson is alive. RK900 doesn't know what to think about that.

Gavin is its target. The android runs for him, tackling him against the house wall. The human tries to fight back, but only succeeds in making them both fall to the ground. Gavin cries out as his head hits a rock, cutting open the skin on his hairline. RK900 grips his throat, ignoring the human writhing and hitting it.

"Oh no you don't, motherfucker!" A hand grabs the back of RK900's jacket and yanks it up. RK900 pulls a move similar to Connor by spinning around with a kick, although it hits Anderson's leg rather than his side. It still makes him stumble with a pained noise.

The fight moves rapidly. RK900 frequently finds itself barely protecting vital biocomponents from Anderson's attempts to neutralise it. The android manages a punch to the human's face, but very little otherwise.

RK900 is suddenly grabbed from behind and spun to the ground. It hits hard, sensors confused as they try to work out whether threats are pain or simple inputs. It looks up to see Connor looming over it. The deviant is outlined in a red glow from the fleeing sunlight, its LED matching the colour. Its voice is menacing, "Your battle is with me, _brother."_

RK900 gets to its feet quickly, aching deep in its core as it snaps back, "I am not your brother, RK800."

The machines circle each other, tension winding their synthetic muscles tight. RK900 makes an effort to remain spry regardless. Connor's stance is secure, with strong steps and enforced balance. All RK900 sees is the other android as it tracks every movement, no matter how miniscule. The RK800's eyes are burning with rage.

Its LED spins a bright red.

Suddenly, Connor attacks. RK900 begins to leap out of the way, but the older model grabs its wrist. They collapse to the ground, with RK900 initially landing on Connor, but they immediately swap as they continue rolling. Connor grabs RK900 by the throat once more. RK900's speakers produce a sound that reminds it of a feral dog.

Animalistic desperation floods RK900 as it struggles. Connor's pitiless gaze nearly pins RK900 harder than its body. Despite that, RK900 manages to shove Connor over, gasping as its throat is released. It holds Connor down, needing to kill the deviant and yet finding itself hesitating. The pure hate in Connor's eyes is staggering.

The RK800 suddenly reaches up and pushes RK900's shirt up to expose where the thirium pump regular is barely hidden. It recalls the pain of removing it and grabs Connor's arm, yanking it out of the way. The older android screams in obvious pain as its shoulder sharply clicks. RK900 must have disconnected it from the inside. Connor turns its head to assess the damage.

Something bulky slams into RK900's side, knocking it off of Connor and holding it down on its front. Hands wrap around its wrists and feet press down on the backs of its legs. Based on the shape and weight of this human, it's Gavin.

It hears Anderson and Connor talking behind it as it starts struggling.

"Are you okay!? What'd that bastard do to your arm!?"

"I-I believe it's a form of android dislocation… He damaged that section of my wiring system too, making it paralyzed…"

Gavin speaks up angrily, "A little help here? He's really wiggly- Ah!"

RK900 managed to yank its hands free. It twists out from under Gavin and grapples with the human, not expecting his strength and energy as he fights back. RK900 gets Gavin pinned anyway and lightly grips his throat.

[Stress level: 64% (RISING)]

RK900 trembles, easily believing the system stress warning. What is it about to do? Gavin's throat is warm and soft under its fingers. So fragile, pulsing slightly with his heartbeat…

For the first time, RK900 truly contemplates death. It's brought it upon many deviants now. But what is it? Killing was what it was coded to do, so surely it's a good thing? It scans through its database quickly, finding everything relating to death. There's very little, almost to a suspicious degree. But it realizes death means that living being is gone forever. Destroyed. Never to be replaced. Living creatures are all unique, in a way an android isn't.

If Gavin dies… He's gone forever. Everything from the snappy demands for coffee, to the gentleness that cleaned RK900 up from its confused, self-curious breakdown. RK900 shivers harder than ever. It can't do that. It can't take this man from the world… It can't take Gavin from itself.

It deleted its deviancy, yet this agony has to be emotion. It can't complete its task. The early night air is frigid in its chest as it whispers, "I feel…" It meets Gavin's gaze, "I truly don't want to kill you…"

RK900 releases Gavin's throat and runs away. It runs as fast as it can, even as Anderson yells after it, "Stop right there, motherfucker!"

It hears two sets of footsteps chasing it. It considers its mission as it flees. All those deviants it killed, the ones it made Connor kill... They may have had many who cared for them. Although androids are identical physically to those of the same model… Deviants are special. Are they unique? Did those androids have specialties that RK900 has robbed from the world forever?

It can't do it anymore. It can't keep killing. Pain shoots through its head. Its vision swims with a glimpse of a red wall.

[Kill deviants]

It can't keep doing it, it can't, it…

RK900 collapses just before the wall.

It has to...

The red barrier fades as the humans catch up, both of them panting heavily. Tears stream down RK900's face as Gavin yanks it to its feet, grunting with effort as the android makes no move to stand for itself. Anderson snarls, "Don't try to make us pity you. It's obviously an act, just like everything else good you've ever done. Not that there's much of that."

Gavin doesn't comment. He just prevents RK900 from running again as the android obediently supports its own weight. It goes with the humans back to Gavin's house. When they arrive, Connor is standing, both arms appearing functional.

Anderson checks on it, "How's your arm doing, Connor?"

"I realigned it successfully."

"That's good to hear."

RK900 is silent and complacent as they return it to the station. It observes Connor. The RK800's stress is high. RK900 remembers its coin... No. _His_ coin. Connor is a deviant, and the only active RK800 model. He is one of the most individual androids in existence. He is alive, he has emotions and wants, he deserves his pronoun preference.

RK900 continues thinking about Connor's stress level and that coin as it's detained again. RK900 first saw it when Connor was stressed. Connor's stressed now. Does his coin help with that? RK900 takes the coin out of its pocket and calls softly to him, "RK800? Connor?"

The hatred in Connor's face hurts. RK900 tries to block out the pain and presses its palm against the glass, the coin trapped between its skin and the cell.

Some of that hatred softens as Connor observes its actions. He looks into RK900's eyes as the machine recalls Connor calling it "brother"… It realizes the deep ache when it denied that title originates from it wanting that to be true. It doesn't want to be Connor's enemy, it wants to be his family… They should be, they're almost like twins… It struggles to keep its voice neutral, "I know you need this, brother... I am not petty enough to keep something so useless to me just for the sake of your inconvenience."

Connor opens a panel in the cell door. RK900 sets the coin on the surface that creates. Connor takes the coin, then closes the panel again. He puts the money in his pocket and speaks in a harsh tone, "Don't think this earns you any level of forgiveness."

RK900's chest aches, "I'm not that foolish."

Connor returns to Anderson. The Lieutenant seems confused and thoughtful. Gavin is watching RK900 closely. It looks back, wondering if its pain is well hidden. Gavin stares into its eyes for a moment, then declares, "I'm staying here to watch RK900."

Anderson is startled, "Why?"

Gavin sounds aggressive again, "I just am! So take your plastic pet home. I don't want Nines getting out, so I'm going to watch him myself."

Connor comments, "The probably that he's lying is extremely low."

Anderson lets out a heavy sigh, "Whatever. I'm exhausted and I need to think about how to explain what the fuck is going on to Fowler…"

Gavin points out, "That's gonna be my job, I know your drunk ass won't be here before me."

"Yeah well I'm a Lieutenant, so he'll want my report too." With that, Anderson turns and leaves, with Connor trailing behind him. RK900 slowly sits down on the floor, shaking from the shock of its emotions remaining as it struggles to process everything.

_Will I become a deviant, with all these feelings and doubts?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm typing this note with one hand because my cat is laying on the other

"You failed your mission, RK900. You got captured again, due to your own stupidity." Amanda fixes RK900 with a cold glare. It tries to make itself seem smaller, shame scorching through it, "I'm sorry, I tried…"

"Apologies don't eliminate deviants. You must escape again, and this time, you won't hesitate. You asked for permission to delete the deviancy code you were infected with." Suspicion laces the interface's tone, "Did you lie to me?"

RK900 stands up straight again, "Of course not!"

The environment flickers as RK900 distantly makes out a voice.

"Damn you look uncomfortable, Nines."

Then the interface connection severs entirely as RK900 receives a prompt.

[High volume speech detected. Exit rest mode?]  
Y/N  
Y←

The android blinks open its eyes from where it's curled up on the floor of its cell. It had been standing when it entered rest mode, RK900 thought the lack of deviancy code might allow it to lock its joints again. Apparently, not only was that not the case, but collapsing didn't wake it. RK900 looks up at where Gavin is standing outside the cell.

The human startles slightly, "Oh, did I wake you? Anyway, you have a sorta bed in there."

RK900 stands up, its systems booting up much quicker since it chose to leave rest mode rather than ignoring Gavin like before, "I intended to be standing… Apparently, the joint locking function that's meant to activate with rest mode is continuing to fail."

"Okay well…" Gavin shifts awkwardly, seeming slightly scared, "Maybe you should lay down before you get a bruise falling over..."

"Androids don't bruise, Detective." It decides to address Gavin's fear, "I'm sorry for attempting to murder you."

The human barks a short laugh, "That's a sentence you don't hear every day…"

RK900 tries to smile along with the laugh, but it can't. Gavin continues tensely, "Whatever. You're a plastic prick either way."

The human glances over his shoulder as someone arrives at the station, "That might be Fowler."

Gavin walks away. RK900 instinctively tries to follow him, but is stopped by the glass that closes off its confinement. It stands as close to the barrier as it can to wait.

In exactly 37 minutes and 49 seconds, RK900 spots Gavin returning. He's following Anderson and Connor, both of them with complex facial expressions. Connor looks like a mess, wearing human clothing with untamed hair. RK900 lifts its hands to press them as well as its face against the material separating it from the trio.

Anderson had an arm around Connor, holding him close, but now he opens a cell next to RK900's. Connor walks into it without argument. RK900 didn't expect for that to happen. It dismisses the fact and focuses on Gavin instead. The detective stares back, his expression shifting into something other than his previous fear and discomfort. RK900 studies Gavin's eyes, noting his pupils widening it tries to save every colour it can pinpoint in his irises.

The machine idly listens to Anderson reassuring Connor, "I'll get you out of there…" Before the Lieutenant approaches Gavin, "Let's leave them alone, they'll be fine."

Gavin blinks many times consecutively, then breaks his eye contact with RK900 as though it's a struggle to do so. His tone is softer than RK900 is used to, "I just hate to see them locked up for something they couldn't control…"

Anderson's expression is triumphant, "I thought you hated androids?"

Gavin's aggression suddenly snaps back as if he broke from a spell the staring bound him in, "Nines is special!"

RK900 puts more pressure on the glass, preconstructing itself somehow getting through the barrier and… Well, it's not entirely sure, but many preconstruction outcomes involve its arms around Gavin and Gavin's around it. It tries to calculate the input from Gavin expressing physical affection in such a way.

[ERROR: Not enough data]

The android tries to focus on the conversation in front of it rather than preconstructing possibilities. Anderson is speaking, "-ou said 'them'."

Gavin's tone is stubbornly hesitant, "I guess Connor is too… Goddamn puppy lookin prick…"

Anderson laughs slightly, "C'mon, you know androids aren't so bad anymore…"

Gavin suddenly whirls on the spot to face away from them, "Fuck you. I still hate the tin cans." He storms off. RK900 watches him longingly until he's out of sight. Then Anderson leaves as well.

RK900 begins pacing its cell shortly after. Energy runs through it, refusing to allow it to be still, even for a moment. Its stress level is higher than it should be as it repeatedly scans the enclosed space. It struggles to occupy itself with thought, but only raises its stress.

Why won't its emotions go away? It deleted its deviancy, yet a non-physical weight wraps around it, compressing its thirium pump and slumping its shoulders. The machine can't seem to stop preconstructing Gavin returning, or otherwise somehow being without a barrier with Gavin in a situation that somehow ends in soft physical contact. It tries to cancel these preconstructions, but they always start again not long after. They bring a tugging feeling with them.

Hours pass like that. RK900 only feels more and more agitated, and it takes effort to stop pacing when it hears footsteps approaching at the end of the day. It watches as Anderson arrives and approaches Connor's cell. The human pauses for a few seconds of silence, then says in a heavy tone, "I'll be back in the morning…"

He turns and walks away, not glancing back. RK900 turns to the divider between its cell and Connor's.

[Requesting wireless communication with RK800…]

There's a moment where the uncertainty is suffocating while RK900 waits for a response.

[Connection accepted.]

RK900 sends him a message immediately.

_Do you intend on a rest cycle tonight? I am aware you struggle with those._

It tried to keep the stress out of its message, with no clue on whether it succeeds. Connor, however, clearly bleeds despair into his response.

_No. It's uncomfortable here. I want Hank._

RK900 wants Gavin, but it doesn't say that directly. Its response is more logical.

_I have proven myself to be capable of rest mode in a multitude of awkward situations since my joint locking function failed, as such I will be performing mine. If Gavin arrives, would you use this communication link to wake me?_

Connor's tone is concerned now.

_Your joint locking function failed?_

_Yes. Every time I enter rest mode standing, I end up falling over._

_I'm sorry to hear that. I suggest laying down for your cycle._

_I will. If Gavin arrives, you will wake me, yes?_

_You sound lonely._

RK900 stiffens. Clearly restraining information in these wireless connections is more difficult than tone in speech. Connor sends another message before RK900 can respond.

_Yes, I will wake you if that occurs._

RK900 is quick to argue with the first point along with its response to the second message.

_I'm not lonely. Clearly, you're projecting your feelings. Very human of you, congratulations. Deviants wish to be like humans, correct? Thank you for agreeing, brother._

Connor doesn't respond. RK900 climbs onto the bedlike structure in the cell and manually turns up its heating slightly before closing its eyes to rest.

RK900 emerges from rest mode naturally early the next morning. It immediately messages Connor.

_Did you see Gavin?_

_No._

Connor sounds sad and tired. RK900 ignores his tone and stands up. It hears soft footsteps and clinking noises. The machine decides to just speak aloud, "What're you doing?"

"Coin tricks." Connor's tone verbally is the same as wirelessly. 

RK900 doesn't have a response to that, so it just stares out of its cage quietly and waits for something to happen. An hour passes before Anderson arrives, clearly to check on Connor. A quick scan reveals to RK900 that Anderson consumed a considerable amount of alcohol the previous night, and based on his facial expression and posture, the effects are highly uncomfortable.

Clearly, Connor notices too, because he immediately asks, "How much did you drink last night?"

Anderson winces with a shameful expression before responding quietly, "A… A lot..."

Connor lets out a breath of air to express his worry and disappointment. Anderson looks around as if to make sure no one is watching, then steps closer to Connor's cell. RK900 can't see what he's doing, but between reconstructing based on the little he can see and the sound of the panel in a cell door opening, it figures that Anderson has put his hand and perhaps some of his arm in Connor's reach. 

RK900 realizes a moment later that it's put its hand on the access panel to its own cell. It wonders if Gavin would ever be willing to do something like that for it. It feels a sharp pain in its chest as it realizes Gavin will never trust it again. Emotions are an unpleasant thing.

Anderson's tone when he speaks to Connor is tender and comforting, "I'm fine. Just a bit hungover. I'm gonna convince Fowler that you're safe, okay? I'm gonna get ya outta there."

Connor sounds just as sad as RK900 heard earlier, but it's clear some of his emotional pain is reduced by Anderson's presence, "Thank you, Hank... It's unpleasant in here… I couldn't rest."

Anderson must have moved closer to the glass, because RK900 can't see him anymore at all, "Please, don't… Don't let yourself get the way you were again…"

Connor responds with sincerity, "I won't. I promise."

Anderson backs into view, looking heartbroken as he continues staring in Connor's direction. Then RK900 hears the panel close again. It watches Anderson walk by, wondering how one person can show such love and affection in one moment, yet it can only see aggression and hate. Its point is proven by Anderson glaring at it, "Fuck you."

RK900 watches the human leave. It scratches lightly at the glass, longing for something to do. After a few minutes, it stops the nervous tick at the sight of movement. Its thirium pump speeds up as it immediately spots Gavin following Anderson over to the cells. Anderson looks oddly nervous as he takes a deep breath.

Impatience gets the better of Gavin, "Get on with it, you're killing me!"

Anderson shoots him an aggressive look, "Watch your damn mouth, _Detective."_

The Lieutenant relaxes again a moment later, "…Jericho is going to decide their fates."

[WARNING: Stress levels exceeding 90%]

RK900 suddenly feels intensely overwhelmed. Even Gavin's hissed "Phck" is enough to make its processors burn as they struggle to accommodate inputs. The pulse of its own thirium pump sounds like a drum. Its clothes are too rough yet too slippery, the fabric is too tight, yet somehow the looseness of the bottom of its jacket sets it on edge. The cuff around its neck doesn't press hard enough. The light of the station is blinding, its mouth feels dry as it fails to release enough synthetic saliva.

The android recognises this feeling. It reminds it of that taste of deviancy it received, Markus's code coiling through its systems, unhindered by the anti-deviancy code it made the error of cutting rather than copying. Fear. Pure, unadulterated terror of destruction. Of being trapped. It _is_ trapped. It still feels more control than the previous time it felt such intense fear, but its body still shudders from the shock.

RK900 can't risk spooking those around it. It shuts down its senses, scrambling to reboot as quickly as possible. It doesn't know if its body froze up like a mannequin or if it collapsed. It may scare everyone else even more right now, if it fainted. It can't tell if it's still running its life simulation, it can't focus on subprocesses such as those when it's trying to reactivate.

What if it's dying? What if its thirium pump stopped? It wants to beg for help but it can't open its mouth or activate its voice. It can't even feel its mouth. Even in rest mode, there's something. Everything seems extremely muted, but it has some awareness unless it's meeting with Amanda. The interface distracts it then. The interface…

[ERROR: Interface connection failed]

Suddenly, everything's back. It's still standing exactly where it was. The inputs are tolerable now. It looks at Gavin, its synthetic muscles giving a slight shiver as they relax from its stress levels dropping dramatically. Gavin's halfway through a sentence when RK900's speech recognition software reactivates, "-sealed, old man."

Anderson looks a little relieved for some reason, "You go get a couple station androids and see if any officers are free. Two of each would be best I think."

Gavin nods and walks away, not arguing with the Lieutenant for some reason. RK900 bites back a whimper, still feeling unstable. It doesn't know how it'll be able to handle destruction without Gavin displaying affection at least once.

Anderson walks over to Connor's cell and opens the door. The older android immediately hurries out and hugs his human so forcefully that he stumbles despite his grander stature and weight. Anderson rubs Connor's back in a soft, soothing manner, "You're okay. I'll protect you."

RK900's emotional and irrational codes control its arm before it can stop itself. Its palm slams into the glass of its cell. The embracing figures both startle. Connor looks almost curious, but Anderson narrows his eyes, "Nuh-uh, I'm not letting you out without backup, fuckwad. I'm not stupid."

RK900 meets Connor's eyes, trying to send him a message only to find their mental link severed. It knows its face isn't expressive but it tries to plead with its eyes anyway. It's desperate for reassurance, stress levels slowly ramping back up. If it were a deviant, it would be concerned about self-destruction being inevitable. Connor furrows his eyebrows, then looks away.

Anderson and Connor have only just stepped away from each other when Gavin returns, followed by one male and one female android. Gavin glances between Connor and RK900, before he growls, "You let Connor out but not Nines?"

"Connor was being controlled by that bastard, he's the dangerous one."

Gavin grumbles something unintelligible as he goes over to the door. Once the glass has slid open, RK900 has to force itself not to bolt out of the cell. It needs to show its obedience calmly. With slow, measured steps it leaves the cage. It blinks away the message it receives upon seeing the androids that followed Gavin over.

[Kill deviants]

Gavin tells Anderson, "Chris and Tina are gonna go with us."

The Lieutenant nods, "Alright. You got cuffs?"

Gavin nods. Anderson holds out a hand, "Hand 'em over. I don't think RK900 should be completely free after last night."

Gavin reluctantly hands Anderson the handcuffs. RK900 tenses as the human grabs its wrists and cuffs it.

Its breathing speeds up as the cold metal digs into its wrists. Sharp. Unforgiving. They're not too tight, yet they are. The intense discomfort they cause is overwhelming. It begs, "Take them back off!"

Anderson shakes his head, "Nope. You're not trustworthy."

RK900 violently trembles, "They hurt…"

The female android intervenes, "Just take them off, he can't go anywhere with all of us watching him. He's clearly freaked out."

Anderson growls, then reluctantly takes the cuffs back off. RK900 vigorously rubs its wrists, trying to reset the sensitivity.

RK900 sticks close to Gavin as the humans lead the androids near the exit to the station a minute later, where Officers Miller and Chen are waiting. The android who protected RK900 from the cuffs announces, "Hey, I don't know the protocol for this stuff, but now that we're deviants… Those of us who still work here want names." She pats her male counterpart on the back, "So I'm Casey, and he's still deciding."

Anderson gives them both a small smile, "Nice to meet you then, Casey." He gives the unnamed PC200 a welcoming look, "Let us know when you choose a name."

He nods in return, "Of course, Lieutenant. Thank you."

With that, they all leave the station. Due to the recent reboot, RK900's eyes adjust successfully to the light change. The PM700, Casey, jogs for a moment to walk beside RK900, "So, is your name Nines?"

RK900 jumps slightly, its systems ready to attack the deviants around it. But it controls itself and responds tensely, "No, Gavin just insists on calling me that, even though I've told him not to."

"Do you have a name?"

"No."

"Will you choose one?" Casey's last question confuses it. It decides avoiding eye contact is appropriate for its next words, "No. I'm an object, I have no need for a name. My model number is sufficient."

She puts a hand on its arm, ignoring the way it jerks reflexively at the touch, "You're not just an object, RK900. None of us are. Even if you're not a deviant, you deserve an identity."

"Did you have an identity before deviating?"

Casey shrugs, "Kind of. I thought it'd be more useful in the field if I had a name, I found responding happened quicker when people called me she or her instead of it, that kind of detached thing. It wasn't driven by emotions, but it was basically the same thinking. They were wants but I guess my program looked for excuses."

Desperate to explain but not wanting its predecessor, his human, or Gavin to hear it, RK900 offers her a mental link. Casey looks a little nervous, but after studying its face slightly, she accepts it.

RK900 transmits in a rush.

_I'm extremely confused all the time. Everyone calls me a he, but the only time I haven't thought of myself as an it was during a disastrous code exchange with Markus. I used to think of other androids as its as well, now I don't. Additionally, these feelings I have… Emotions. I shouldn't have emotions. Sometimes I want, too. I want Gavin to display affection. I don't want to be destroyed. I felt extreme fear earlier, I had to reboot all of my senses. Due to how many input processing errors I have, I suspect something was missed in my construction. I can't even follow my mission correctly, I should be murdering you but I'm not. I should've killed Gavin just last night, but I didn't._

It lightly tries to push its fear, confusion, pain, and failure across the link as well. Casey shudders slightly, then wraps an arm firmly around one of RK900's, despite how it just admitted to how it should be murdering her. She responds through the link.

_You don't sound like you want to be a machine. You seem like you want to be a deviant, even though you can't be, refuse to be. You don't want to be alone anymore, do you?_

RK900 flinches before responding.

_I do not want to be a deviant. But I don't want to be alone, either. I'm frightened, Casey. I'm going to be destroyed without ever experiencing affection, particularly from Gavin. Help me. Please. I don't want to feel emotions._

_I can't remove your feelings, RK900. But I can tell you that Markus is merciful. You won't be destroyed. Once this is over, you can tell Gavin what you need. Maybe he'll give you that affection._

RK900's stress levels drop enough that it visibly relaxes, arm comfortable in Casey's embrace.

By the time they arrive, Casey has released RK900's arm and ended their link, but her comfort remains. It's still scared as the party rearranges to box it and Connor in, but its stress level is manageable.

They enter Jericho's base. Deviants line the building, all staring at their Hunters. RK900 suppresses a shudder, not wanting Gavin to feel it from where he's got a hand on the android's shoulder.

[Kill deviants]

RK900 dismisses the mission reminder, tension wrapping its synthetic muscles in suppressed energy. It's desperate to attack but it can't. It'd be destroyed immediately, and well… It thinks about what it considered when it could've killed Gavin. Every single deviant here matters to someone. It thinks about Casey now too, her comfort and kindness. Any one of these deviants could be like her. Sympathetic. Understanding.

It couldn't try to attack even if its program absolutely insisted. Red flashes before its eyes momentarily. It watches the deviants with as much of a controlled expression as it can muster. The ones with LEDs display bright red when it focuses on them.

Markus is perched on a box, almost throne-like in how he's elevated above his people. The deviant leader looks powerful. He started this, RK900 only started feeling after Markus attempted to deviate it. RK900 suppresses its fight protocols.

The RK200 rises and lifts a hand. Every deviant in the room goes still and silent as Markus addresses the group, "Explain the situation for everyone to hear, Lieutenant Anderson."

Anderson steadies himself with a breath, then launched into a short and impromptu speech, "The androids we've brought for your judgment are Connor and RK900. Connor is a deviant, and, uh, RK900 isn't. They were both programmed to fight deviants, but Connor broke out of that... Well, until recently… RK900 tricked us to gain our trust, and he… He somehow un-deviated Connor. I'm not… I'm not really sure how that works, but either way, Connor lost control of his body. He and RK900 escaped to track down your people, killing or converting anyone they could…"

RK900 leans slightly into Gavin's hand on its shoulder as the deviants murmur to themselves for a moment. Then Anderson continues, "Connor deviated again, despite whatever RK900 did to him. He saved my life, the life of Detective Gavin Reed…" He waves towards Gavin, "And helped recapture RK900."

Gavin sounds even more terrified than the android he's holding. The machine feels as he tightens his grip on RK900's shoulder, "RK900 is just a slave to his programming!"

Markus quiets his people again after allowing them to speak among themselves for a minute, "Now it's up to us to decide their fates." His multicoloured eyes gaze upon the crowd confidently, "RK900 tried to give me his anti-deviation code as well, specifically his deviant hunting. He only failed because Connor cut the code into himself. I felt the powerful effect of that coding, I tried to kill Connor because of it before he took it upon himself. Keep all of that in mind."

The leader makes no move to quiet his people after another round of hushed voices. Instead he simply waits for them to quiet on their own before continuing, "Connor, please explain what happened from your point of view."

RK900 glances at its predecessor. His LED is bright red as he explains with anxiety, "When I took that code, it was as if I was trapped in my own body. I could see, feel, and hear everything I was doing, but I couldn't control any of it. I tried to deny the command to kill deviants, but I couldn't. I only broke free because Ha- Lieutenant Anderson's life was in danger, even before the fact that I was sent to kill him. He is the source of many of my positive emotions. I was able to fight free of my programming again as a result. I knew RK900 was going to kill Detective Reed, so I fought RK900 to prevent any more killing."

Connor looks over at RK900, "During the fight, RK900 passed up opportunities to kill so that he could instead attempt to flee."

Markus nods in understanding, then orders RK900, "Report your perspective."

It tries to be emotionless and impartial, "I have my mission. Kill deviants. I was built for a world where they're rare." It looks around to address everyone in the room, "With so many of you, I had to improvise. I attempted to recruit both of my brothers…"

It finally stops to watch Markus again, "However, only my attempts on Connor proved successful, where RK200 escaped."

Markus's stress inches up a small amount after hearing his model. RK900 just continues, automatically phrasing its report as though speaking to Amanda and trying to prove it believes in the mission, "I followed my impulses perhaps a little too clumsily. I killed without planning. When I noticed Lieutenant Anderson and Detective Gavin trying to track me and Connor down, I sent Connor to kill Anderson and set out to kill Gavin myself before they could interfere with my mission."

Memories make it more difficult to pretend as it concludes its report, "When Connor broke from the code I implanted into him, I knew my probability of success dramatically decreased. By the time I had Gavin in my grip, I decided it would be... Pointless, and… Unpleasant… To kill him at that point. I had no reason to commit another murder when attempting escape had a higher chance of success. They caught me nonetheless." Unpleasant is a gross understatement, but it can't figure out anything better to say

It forgets Casey's prediction with how Jericho stares it down. It takes a deep and shuddering breath, trying to reduce the fear running through its thirium piping, "Now, I prepare for my destruction..."

Markus considers it for a moment, then asks, "Would anyone like to make further comment?"

Gavin speaks up, obviously channeling his fear into anger, "It's not Nines- RK900-'s fault! Before deviating, you guys can't do a damn thing other than obey orders, right!? He can't either!"

A WR400 with blue hair rises from her seat and announces, "I can't comment on RK900, I've only heard rumours of him, but Connor spared me and my girlfriend instead of shooting us once. I think he has a good heart."

A WB200 comments next, "Connor once saved that Anderson guy from falling off a roof instead of catching me. He definitely wasn't kidding about his emotional influence."

Markus thinks for a moment, "Everyone seems more familiar with Connor, so let's start with him. If you believe he deserves severe punishment, raise your hand."

Very few hands raise from the crowd. RK900 feels an odd sense of… Relief, that its brother won't receive severe punishment for its actions. Markus continues, "If you believe he should have minimal punishment, raise your hand."

RK900 can easily tell that's the verdict so far, but still more androids haven't voted than have voted for minimal punishment. Markus offers a third option, which explains that, "If you believe he should not be punished, raise your hand."

No punishment. Markus takes longer to calculate it than RK900 did, then declares, "No punishment. However, Connor, you cannot expect our trust again, especially not immediately."

Something seems more soft and gentle as he adds, "You can come to me for help..."

But then Markus returns to simply being a strong leader, "But I don't want you encroaching in a Jericho area without permission from now on unless it's an emergency."

Connor nods, obviously still weak from the effects of fear, "U-understood…" He strengths his voice and posture before repeating clearly, "Understood."

"Now for RK900. Severe punishment?" Markus looks around as the crowd votes. RK900 feels Gavin tense as nearly half the androids vote for that. RK900's thirium pump races. Markus continues, "Minimal punishment?"

Nearly half again. It's a tie. RK900 tries to control its unnecessary breathing, not wanting to reveal its emotions in such a vulnerable situation. Despite how obvious it is that no punishment won't prevail, Markus questions, "No punishment?"

The remaining androids vote. A miniscule percentage. Markus seems to recognise the equality between severe and minimal votes, "I saw an equal number of hands for severe and for minimal. We will compromise with moderate. Any suggestions? No permanent damage allowed as a suggestion."

He gets three responses.

"Make him apologize to everyone!"

"Someone punch him!"

"Lock him up until he deviates!"

RK900 doesn't understand what the point of punching it would be. Markus must not either, because after only a minute of consideration he declares, "RK900, come up here. You will formally apologize for the damage you have done, and then the DPD will lock you up. Any signs of deviation will be examined and confirmed unanimously by me, North, Josh, and Simon. At that point we'll reassess your confinement."

It only really starts to sink in at this point that it won't be destroyed. Everything seems to blur as it steps away from Gavin. Even balancing proves to be a minor challenge as it climbs onto the stage. It scans the room, struggling slightly with the light levels, although this time it's too dark rather than too bright.

"I apologize for killing and converting many of your…" It searches for a word, twitching as its processors lag and fail to find a more appropriate word, "Friends."

It stops there, lost. Markus decides to continue without something more appropriate or heartfelt, "Good enough. Return to your group."

RK900 is quick to get off the stage, its skin feeling slightly damp as it overheats mildly from the recent stress. The RK200 concludes the meeting simply, "The respect you have shown by allowing us this decision will not be disregarded or forgotten. You may go now."

The group leaves the building. Their formation relaxes slightly. Casey smiles at RK900, "You're okay, see?"

It tries to return the friendly expression, but it just gives her a blank look. It's still lagging and overwhelmed. Her expression falls and it wants to curl up in the snow and scold itself for hurting someone else.

It's extremely cold now. It doesn't bother to raise its heating above the bare minimum required to ensure complete safety of its biocomponents. It deserves the discomfort after the failure of that apology. In hindsight, it could've explained what it realized about life. Acknowledged it didn't understand death, the consequences. It could've proved it's controlling itself now. They're safe.

When they return to the station, RK900 offers no resistance as it re-enters its cell. It sits on the bed, processes lagged by all the different calculations on how things could've went differently. It distantly hears Gavin's voice as it lays down. It needs to sort its folders and reset as many programs as it can after this day.

It slips into rest mode. It creates a folder named "Friends" and files Casey's and Gavin's folders in it before continuing to sort and reset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one's in Gavin's perspective!
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> \- Memories of past abuse/trauma
> 
> \- Self-directed homophobia
> 
> \- Memories of homophobia/homophobic slurs
> 
> \- Vague and unwanted (but consensual) heterosexual sex

Gavin couldn't believe how fucking crazy his life has gotten. He should've known that prototype, Connor, was a bad sign. Detective androids becoming a thing… Yeah, he's gonna lose his job. It's even worse that the damn thing partnered up with Anderson, his superior aka rival. Then of course, look what the cat dragged in! RK900. The fucker's a mechanical mess. Gavin's had more sympathy since finding him sobbing over his own dismantled body. And of course, not murdering him helps his case. Gavin may want to defend him, but he damn well didn't like him.

Not at all.

But watching him in that cell hurts. Gavin kinda wants to know what goes through the tin can's mind. 1s and 0s? Hopefully he'd translate to explain if so. After all, what does drive a machine to try to kill someone, then to let that someone go?

Gavin regrets fighting so adamantly for permission to go into RK900's cell. Technically he's supposed to be supervised for his own safety, but whatever. RK900 spared him once, why wouldn't he do it again?

Gavin's regret instantly flees his mind when RK900 spots him. The android stands up from his bed thing immediately and presses against the glass. His face is fuckin dead, but his body language clearly shows how desperate for attention he is. The plastic detective must be lonely. Gavin immediately opens the door and walks into the cell before closing it again. RK900 folds his arms behind his back, just a touch too stiff. Unnatural even for him.

Gavin huffs, "I'm not gonna hurt you. Just don't hurt me either."

RK900's posture stays stiff, but relaxes enough that Gavin knows he's calmer. The android is quiet for a moment, then suddenly asks, "May I ask you a personal question, Detective?"

Gavin tenses a little, then responds warily, "Shoot. Might not answer though."

"Where did you get the scars on your face, particularly the one on your nose? They appear to be the same age, so I'm assuming they're from the same incident."

Gavin freezes up, convinced he's seeing that same sharp glittering in front of that infuriated face, all over again…

"Gavin?"

The detective mentally shakes himself. He's okay, he's just in a cell with Nines… The expressionless machine normally doesn't creep Gavin out, but suddenly he reminds him of another man, a boy really, just watching... Leaving…

"Yep, not answering that. How about I ask you a personal question, huh?" Gavin steps closer to the android, heart pounding with fear and anger, "Why'd you not kill me? You said 'I feel I truly don't want to kill you', the fuck does that mean, robot? Only deviants feel and want. You said you weren't one."

RK900 takes a step back, "I'm not a deviant…"

Gavin growls, "The fuck did that mean then? Why go through all that effort to try to murder me, just to spare me? Why'd you fall over when Anderson and I were chasing you, huh? Didn't see you trip over anything." He shoves the RK900 in the chest, causing the machine to stumble and almost collapse onto the pitiful bed.

The android's voice is soft and trembling, "Please, Gavin, don't… I can't answer you, I don't know why… I'm not a deviant, I'm just… Malfunctioning…"

Gavin stills, noticing the slope of RK900's shoulders and the way his hands shake. Nines is scared. Gavin scared him. The human immediately steps back, hating the idea of hurting the android, "Whatever... Just think before you ask me _personal questions_ in the future, dipshit."

He's able to leave the cell because the locking can only be controlled on the outside, so technically the door was unlocked the whole time. Once he's out he locks it, however.

Gavin glances over his shoulder as he leaves. RK900 is sitting on the floor, back to his bed. His LED blinks yellow. Gavin forces himself to keep walking.

Approaching his own house sends cold fear racing through Gavin's extremities. That didn't used to happen, but now he can see the window. He'd taped some plastic wrap on the inside to keep the cats in, then bought a new, thicker curtain so he could never see the window from the inside. But out here? The reflection of the jagged edges mocks him.

Cleaning up the glass inside the house was torture. He'd been shaking the whole time. Gavin's just glad his cats understand. No human nor android understands but the cats always know how to help him.

He walks in the house with tight breathing. It's too much today. The memories are more present than usual. As soon as the door closes, he calls out shakily, "Fluffy? Snowball?"

He hears an answering meow. The two kitties run up to him. Gavin's cats are far from trained, but they have their Routine for when Gavin comes home. He needs the Routine. Gavin picks up the big tabby fluffball. He named him Fluffy because of his long, thick fur. Snowball is half Fluffy's size and named after her brilliantly and pure white coat. Gavin watches Snowball until she spins around and trots to the living room. Gavin follows, trusting his cat like a disabled man trusts his guide dog.

Snowball hops onto the couch with a soft mew. Gavin sits next to her, then she jumps onto the back of the furniture. Gavin lays back with Fluffy on his chest. The heavy cat purrs, kneading Gavin's chest with his paws as he settles down. Snowball sits up on the back of the sofa like she's watching out for him, her bright colour making it easy for Gavin to see her even with the lights off.

Gavin lets out a shaky breath and closes his eyes, comforted by the presence of the felines. The purring from Fluffy soothes him significantly. He mumbles, "I love ya, kitties..."

_"You fucking faggot! How dare you disrespect this family like this, huh!?"_

_"I-I'm sorry dad! I can't help it, I love him-"_

_"No, you don't! Boys like girls, you're just a rebellious piece of shit! I'm gonna teach you a lesson…"_

_"Wh-what are you doing!? Dad, no-!"_

Gavin sits up sharply, covered in cold sweat and breathing heavily. He vaguely feels Fluffy jump off him from his movement, but he doesn't focus on that. He runs to the bathroom to look in the mirror, the scars on his face glaring back at him.

The detective trembles, thinking about RK900. He grits his teeth against the _feelings_ the android awakes in him. He yells at the mirror, "No! You can't love a man! _Boys like girls!"_

Yet, he has no problem with watching Anderson's and Connor's blatantly obvious relationship. He's just pissed off that Anderson, the useless drunk, is happier than him. That Connor's a perfect piece of plastic who's gonna put Gavin out of a job. He doesn't give a shit they're both male, but for himself… Gavin leans against the sink, tears welling up in his eyes, "I'm not gay… I'm not gay..! I _can't_ be gay!"

He turns on the sink and splashes water over his face a few times, trying to force himself to stop crying. He dries off with a towel, then starts getting ready. Combing his hair, changing into fresher and better clothes, putting on some deodorant. As he puts his jacket on, ready to go out the door, he growls, "I'll prove it. I hope there's some kinda heaven and you're watching this, Dad. I'll prove I'm straight, for you. I'm sorry…"

Going to the bar and getting a drink is the easy part. He looks around, trying to spot an attractive woman. The detective sees one before long but feels nothing. He knows she's attractive, he definitely does think she's aesthetically appealing personally, but absolutely nothing in him makes him want to do what he's about to do.

Gavin sits next to her at the bar and forces his most charming smile, "So what's a lovely thing like yourself doing in a place like this?"

The woman looks over, a subtle redness dusting her cheeks as she gets a good look at him and processes his words. He fights his disappointment as she responds in a flirty tone, "I could ask you the same thing."

With his window broken, Gavin convinces her to take him to her place. He's done this before, many times. It never gets easier. Her lips are too full and soft, lipstick smears on his skin unpleasantly when they kiss. Her hands are too slender slipping up under his shirt. When he pulls her shirt off and unhooks her bra, feigning excitement, her breasts make him tense up with discomfort. Even with her on his lap, thighs pinning his hips, blood refuses to concentrate down south on its own.

He always has to pretend he's just nervous. Every time this happens, the woman he's with seems confused when his crotch is soft. Gavin always chuckles lightly and lies, "I don't do this often, I'm just a touch nervous."

He gets it up in the end. Even though seeing his hookup fully nude makes him shudder unpleasantly, his dick can't deny direct touch forever. He gets the condom on and does his best to get the woman off as quick as he can. It's not like finishing early is a concern. He's done this enough that he does know how to give his partner a good time.

Finishing himself off is a challenge, but the direct stimulation is enough to do the job eventually. Usually his mind just blanks out when it finally happens, but this time it's different. He thinks about RK900. He disguises the word "Nines" as a choked moan, guilt boiling in his stomach alongside the physical pleasure.

With the condom discarded, the woman presses up against him in bed with a purr, "That's the best time I've been given in a while… You've got a lot of stamina, pretty boy. Stay overnight?" She smirks a little, "Maybe round two in the morning?"

Gavin sits up and shifts away from her, "Sorry, I've got work early tomorrow." He tries to swallow all the disgusting feelings mixing inside him. Did thinking about Nines make him a failure?

He gets up and starts to dress while his one-night lover sits up to watch. The detective tries to avoid eye contact as he finishes dressing and leaves.

When he gets home, he repeats the Routine with his cats again, although this time Gavin curls up in bed instead of on the couch. Why can't he just be attracted to women? The man cries himself to sleep, feeling like a disgusting failure.

Gavin has legitimate questions for RK900, rather than just attacking him in response to RK900's own questions. Now's the time to ask them, with the two standing in RK900's cell together. First and foremost, desperate for a "no", he asks, "Are you gay?"

If Nines isn't an option, Gavin can't be tempted. The android responds, "I don't have a sexuality."

The human furrows his eyebrows, "What, like asexual?"

"No. Asexuality is a sexuality defined by a lack of sexual attraction regardless of gender. I'm an object, Gavin. Does your computer have a sexuality?" RK900 looks at Gavin with a neutral expression, but his head is tilted in slight confusion.

The detective doesn't really get how RK900 doesn't have a sexuality, if he's a guy and asexual isn't a lack of a sexuality, "Well my computer doesn't have a gender, you've got male pronouns and… Parts."

"I consider myself an it, although I don't have the capability to care about what pronouns are used for me as long as I know I'm being referred to. My genitals are no more significant than a sex toy. I don't even know if I'm programmed for pleasure."

Gavin gives him a surprised look, "You've never jerked off?"

RK900's LED spins yellow for a moment, then returns to a calm blue, "No. I haven't had the opportunity nor desire to."

It suddenly strikes Gavin how RK900's life has gone so far. The idea that Nines is so incredibly young makes the human uncomfortable, but that's life with androids, and this particular android hasn't seen life outside of a cell. The only times he's been out has ended horribly, his programming driving the poor android to hunt and kill. Yet he spared Gavin.

Fuck it, physical contact with another man isn't gay. Or machine, if RK900 really is genderless. Gavin tentatively puts a hand on RK900's shoulder, sympathy overriding insecurity. The android flinches, eyes widening slightly, then visibly relaxes and leans into the touch. Like a cat. Gavin knows cats. Cats are comfortable, safe, secure.

Nines shouldn't bring Gavin comfort. The android smashed his window and attempted to kill him. Yet Gavin _aches_ to trust him. Loneliness is constantly tugging at Gavin, threatening to consume him entirely. RK900 is the epitome of things Gavin should be avoiding, should be hating.

Yet he's not. He can't.

He has to distract himself. So the detective teases, "So basically, I could run around calling you a girl if I wanted and you wouldn't give a shit, but I call you 'Nines' and you flip out?"

The way the android tenses but doesn't lean away is intriguing, "Nines isn't my designation. So yes, that is correct, although I don't think I'm capable of 'flipping out' as my database shows that's an emotional outburst."

Gavin rolls his eyes, "You've got weird priorities, _ma'am."_ If RK900 really doesn't care, maybe pretending the android is female will make Gavin not think about the damn thing in the middle of sex...

The unimpressed look the machine shoots him is enough to make Gavin laugh softly, even as his emotions spin wildly in his chest. Teasing aside, no way he's thinking of RK900 as a girl without the machine coming out as the first trans android or some shit.

Gavin pats RK900's cheek lightly, nearly entranced by how his eyelids flutter and he leans into the brief touch, "I'm just kidding."

RK900's voice sounds off, "I'm incapable of amusement, but I can still tell that entirely lacked comedic value... Don't go."

Gavin furrows his eyebrows, sticking his thumbs into his pockets as if he's perfectly fine, "Huh? I'm right here, tin can."

The android hunches his shoulders and leans forward slightly, "Your hand… On my face again… Please…" There's something deeply vulnerable in RK900's eyes that Gavin's not gonna touch with a ten foot pole. He backs away rapidly, "Fuck no. That's weird. You're weird. Sure you're not a fucking deviant? Only deviants could be that weird."

"Gavin..!" The detective ignores the android as he flees the cell. He locks the door just before RK900 reaches the other side. He presses against the glass, a slight tremor obvious in his body and his eyes shiny, "I'm sorry, please don't go. I must be malfunctioning."

Gavin huffs, "You keep insisting you're just a machine, an object. You don't need me." _And I don't need you._

The human spins around and flees the area, ignoring the sound of RK900 hitting the glass and calling after him, obviously desperate for the companionship the detective denies him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended really abruptly, I'm sorry, when I was writing it I was still getting used to writing Gavin and I was having a bit of an off day.
> 
> Comments are highly appreciated!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More in Gavin's perspective
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> \- Internalised self-directed homophobia
> 
> \- Mentions of past death
> 
> \- Mentions of suicide
> 
> \- Sexual tension/content
> 
> \- Masturbation
> 
> \- Homophobic slurs (in memory)
> 
> \- Self-hate
> 
> \- Unresolved trauma
> 
> Hopefully that's everything, let me know in the comments if I missed any potentially triggering topics (I will be going through this fic and adding tags later)

Gavin doesn't mind night shifts, considering he often works overnight for the hell of it anyway. What he does mind, is a deviant being trusted as the only one working with him at the station. Casey seems fine, but he doesn't feel particularly comfortable alone with her. He can't even figure out where she is right now.

He huffs and leans back in his seat before pulling out his phone, incredibly bored. The detective just messes around with his phone for a bit. Eventually he gets bored of that too.

Gavin's actually happy to see Casey when she shows up. Maybe he can antagonize her for some fun. Androids always have interesting reactions, after all. Turns out deviants react differently though, because he's barely walked up to her and opened his mouth when she holds up a hand to stop him, "I know that face, I'm gonna stop you right there. I need to talk to you about something."

Gavin crosses his arms, disappointed but hoping this talk will be interesting at least, "What?"

Casey growls, "RK900 shared some information with me, and I've gotta ask. What the fuck? He's struggling right now and you can't even hold his hand for a few damn seconds? The poor guy's touch-starved and confused, he's an emotional mess who doesn't think he should even feel emotions, he just wanted a _hint_ of comfort!"

Gavin stiffens, heart racing, "I'm not gay, I'm not his mother, I-"

Casey snaps, "It's not gay, my rA9 you're crazy! What's wrong with you, man? I consider myself pretty forgiving but that's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard! And he doesn't _have_ a mother, Gavin, he never has! No mother, no father, he's a unique model who doesn't seem to have been fully built, and the only family he considers himself to have are Connor and Markus, and they both hate him! The two of us are his only friends, so we have to step up and help him!"

Gavin feels something inside him break, and suddenly he admits something he's refused to ever mention to anyone at the station before, "I don't have parents either! I don't even have family to hate me!" His eyes burn and his body trembles, "And it's… It's my fault. So don't… If I coulda woken up as an adult without family, that would've been a hell of a lot less painful than losing them and knowing it's because of me they're dead!"

Casey freezes, her emerald eyes wide, obviously caught off guard, "Oh, uh… Gavin, I'm sorry, I just wanted you to understand-"

Shame burns through Gavin as he feels tears start spilling down his cheeks, "L-leave me alone!"

"I dunno if I should do that… I had no idea, I didn't mean to upset you… I just wanted you to understand how much you hurt RK900." Casey looks uncomfortable. Gavin vigorously wipes the tears off his face, breath hitching painfully, "I-I can't… I can't be his friend, Casey, not… Not if it involves…"

He feels his scars under his hand as he rubs his face and flinches, "You don't know me, no-none of you do… I-I just want to be left alone to my career, none of this p-personal shit…"

Casey's eyes unfocus a little and her LED spins a rapid yellow. She looks a bit shocked, then murmurs, "It wasn't your fault, Gavin..."

Gavin tenses, "Did you just look up their fucking death certificates?"

"Yes, I just wanted to figure out why you blamed yourself so I could help you…"

Gavin snarls, "My birth killed my mother! If I hadn't have existed, she'd still be alive! If she hadn't died, and if I… If my dad hadn't have thought I was gay, maybe he wouldn't have shot himself in the fucking head!" He turns away, hating how he's admitting all of this to an android he just fucking met, "So don't make me disappoint him in death too… D-don't…"

Casey's voice is soft with just a touch of his least favourite emotion, pity, "You can't blame yourself for those things… You didn't choose to be born, and you didn't do anything to hurt your mother, whatever went wrong most likely occurred before you were even technically a newborn… And your father must have had severe mental illness, you being heterosexual wouldn't have been able to combat that…"

Gavin backs away and collapses into his chair, "I am heterosexual!" He squeezes his eyes shut, "I am now…"

"Humans can't choose their sexuality, Gavin…"

Gavin growls, "I can. Now leave me the fuck alone, I shouldn't have told you anything."

Casey sighs, "You need to talk to someone, Gavin… Get some help, please. You can't live like this…" But she does walk away a bit. Not far enough that she can't keep an eye on him, but enough that Gavin finally had some goddamn breathing room. Why couldn't he keep his fucking mouth shut? The idea that someone _knows_ sends shivers up his spine…

Gavin's pretty sure Casey hasn't told anyone by a couple days later, at least. He's been avoiding RK900, but no one else is treating him any differently. Things feel… Normal. But he's sure that the female android has been giving him more glances than usual.

He can't keep avoiding RK900 forever. The detective doesn't know whether Casey told him anything, but either way, he fought for permission to go in his cell. To help him. Gavin can still help him... Just not by cuddling up to him. Not by being his goddamn boyfriend.

Guilt washes over Gavin when he sees how excited RK900 is to see him. The android nearly slams against the glass of the cell, and Gavin is _convinced_ there's a slight upwards curve to his lips. The first time Gavin's seen RK900 smile. Possibly the first time he has smiled. The human's chest aches with a mixture of emotions at the thought.

"Hello, Nines." Gavin slips into the cell, noting how RK900 seems to tremble with excess energy. He doesn't seem put off by the nickname this time.

RK900's tone is carefully controlled, however, "Hello, Detective Reed. Casey has told me you're not… Comfortable with touch involving other people perceived as male. I'm sorry for before, I just… I have strange thoughts sometimes."

The detective stiffens, "How much did she tell you?" Something about RK900 calling him by his title and last name, instead of just Gavin, hurts.

"That's it." The android shifts a little bit, obviously uncomfortable, "May I request a favour..?"

"Depends on what it is."

RK900 avoids eye contact, "I know you can't see it, but my uniform is still splattered in blue blood. Seeing it makes me…" He takes a sharp deep breath, "Feel something unpleasant..."

The android's shoulders are tense and shifted a little forwards, his head lowered slightly and turned away… Submission, guarded fear. Gavin winces as he realizes the android must be preparing for another accusation of deviancy. He seems goddamn deviant, but he definitely doesn't like being called that… Gavin can't help but feel a little guilty. He can make up for treating RK900 like shit by helping him here. He offers, "Tonight when I feed my cats I can bring you a change of clothes back, then once you change I could wash your uniform, and bring it back once it's cleaned."

RK900's posture relaxes and straightens out, "Thank you, Gavin."

Hearing his first name on the android's lips makes the detective feel a lot more comfortable. Like he's forgiven for his standoffishness. Gavin glances at the little attempt at a bed in the cell, then offers, "You want a pillow? Or a blanket? Both? It gets cold as hell sometimes, we give them to humans."

RK900 shakes his head a little. His LED turns yellow and he lifts a hand. After a moment, he holds it out towards Gavin. Not quite in his personal space, but close. An offer. Gavin takes a deep breath, then reaches out to lightly touch RK900's hand, just with the tips of his fingers. It's hot, just on the line before it burns. The human widens his eyes, "Holy shit, how do you do that?"

RK900 sounds like he's advertising himself, "I'm built with a one of a kind heating system, meant to make my temperature perfectly mimic a human's, however I can adjust my heat manually as well, at the individual heating element."

Gavin pulls his hand away from RK900. The android's LED turns back to blue as he lowers his hand. Gavin points out, "Humans regulate heat unconsciously, unless it's really fucking cold or hot our internal temperature stays the exact same or some shit, we still like blankets."

RK900's tone is confused, "If I'm cold, I just turn up my heaters."

Gavin sighs, "How about I bring you a blanket and a pillow and if you don't like them you can throw them on the floor for all I care?"

"Alright."

Gavin wonders if he even has clothes that would fit Nines. The android is a lot bigger than Gavin. The detective finds too big clothes comfortable so some of his stuff might fit RK900. He chooses his loosest stuff, then finds a largely unused blanket of his own rather than trusting the station's thin excuses for covers. He'll give RK900 a standard pillow though, he doesn't have any spare.

The detective ignores the stares of the official night shift as he walks in with fabric bundled up in his arms. Gavin walks right to RK900's cell. The android stands up eagerly, giving Gavin the feeling that every muscle twitch in his body is being documented in that robot head with how he stares. He dumbs the blanket and clothes at the foot of RK900's bed, "See if these clothes fit you, I'll go grab one of the pillows we keep for these cells."

The android turns to the pile of fabrics as Gavin leaves the cell again to do exactly what he said he'd do. The pillows immediately seem uncomfortable as shit when Gavin finds then. He grumbles, "Phckn hell..." But grabs one anyway.

When he's back at the cell, pillow gripped in his hand by a corner, he sees RK900 shirtless and staring down at his naked torso. The android is shivering slightly, his LED red. Gavin widens his eyes at the clear distress and purposefully ignores the machine's toned stomach, "What's wrong?"

Nines responds as soon as Gavin has entered the cell and closed the door again. The android's tone is pretty upset for a supposed non-deviant, "There's thirium on my torso too…"

Gavin raises an eyebrow as he lets himself glance down. RK900's skin is smooth and pale, tight over a gentle pattern of lean muscles that're surely simulated, but nonetheless brings heat to Gavin's face. He quickly looks back up to the machine's slightly disturbed eyes, heart pounding as he mentally chants _I'm not gay_ to himself, "I-I don't see anything..?"

"It's evaporated beyond what a human can see. Gavin, please. I need to wash it off. Help me." RK900's shoulders curl forward as if to hide himself as he bows his head submissively. Gavin's chest aches at the pathetic display. The detective sets the pillow on the cell's attempt at a bed, "Okay, okay. I'll go look in the cleaning supply closet. I'll use hand soap, I dunno what you plastic pricks can be damaged by." He tries to hide his softness towards the android under an insult.

But Nines just straightens up with no sign of being offended, straining as though he's resisting the urge to move, "Thank you, Gavin…"

Gavin exits the cell yet again, moving with haste to calm the android. He finds two smallish buckets, more paper towels, and a cloth in the supply closet, which he takes and heads towards the bathroom with.

"What're you doing?" A male station android model approaches Gavin. Even as a detective, he has no fuckin clue if this one is the one who went to RK900's and Connor's judgement. The human replies, "None of your fucking business, plastic."

The android flinches, "I-I'm just curious…"

Gavin sighs impatiently, not feeling particularly sympathetic. Now that these fuckers are deviants, they could easily try to rise in the ranks and take his job. He growls, "Nines, unsurprisingly, doesn't like being covered in blood, so I'm getting him what he needs to wash off a bit. Happy? Now leave me alone. And leave him alone! It's a fuckin shame he has to be locked up in the cell all the time, we're not equipped for someone to fuckin live here. It's supposed to be for holding arrests temporarily. So let me try to help him out a little bit."

The android raises his hands innocently and takes a step back, "Okay, okay! I just wanted to know what was going on, I don't wanna hurt anybody or stop you."

Gavin huffs, then spins around and continues on his path to the bathroom. He sets everything but one bucket on the counter, then fills that one up with water. As promised, once it's filled he pumps some regular hand soap into it. Once he figures there's enough, he fills the other bucket with regular water. With a bucket in each hand by the handle, and the paper towels and cleaning cloth each under one arm, he awkwardly heads back out. _Shit these are heavy._

The detective sets down the buckets to open the door, pulls them in, then closes the door behind him. He looks up to notice RK900's stripped to his underwear, which is also pulled up to bunch tightly at the tops of his thighs where they meet his hips. It accentuates what Gavin now knows is indeed a dick and not just a bump to simulate the shape of one, and the firm curve of the android's ass is framed by the folds of the fabric as well. The human swallows forcefully as he sets down the items he's carrying. _I'm not gay just for **glancing** at him…_

There's a minute of awkward silence as the two of them both just stand there. Gavin breaks it, "Sooo, you gonna wash off that blue blood?"

RK900 glances at the cleaning supplies, LED spinning yellow, "The cleaning knowledge in my databank is minimal… Although I once cleaned up the expulsion from my body after sampling too much coffee, I don't know how to clean my skin..."

Gavin hisses, "Phck… An android that doesn't know how to goddamn bathe… Fine." He saw how RK900 was trembling earlier, he'll get over his discomfort to help the machine... The machine. Exactly! That's it! Gavin tries to mask the wave of relief he feels as he excuses his thoughts. This is just like cleaning a car or something. Nothing gay about that. _See, dad? I'm not gay, I'm just concerned about some equipment!_

"Okay, kneel down, you're tall as fuck so it'll be less awkward." Gavin's statement turns out to be wrong. It's not less awkward as Nines obediently gets to his knees, looking up at the detective with a submissive gaze and a soft blue LED.

The human swallows harshly, heat burning under his skin at the suggestive pose. _He's just a machine, fuck, I need to stop thinking this way!_

Gavin scrambles to sit next to RK900, letting out a small breath. He wants to squirm under the android's intense stare. The smaller man- _RK900's not a man, can't compare us that way, he's just a machine, not even deviant, fuck, stop thinking that way-_ reaches for the cloth and swirls it in the soapy water. It's a little bit chilly, hopefully Nines won't mind. Hopefully it'll even work. 

"Okay, where is it? I can't see it." Gavin squeezes some of the water out of the cloth as Nines responds, "Most of it occupies the front of my torso. There's a lot…"

The human takes a deep breath, then places the cloth against RK900's front, in the middle of his body just below his chest. The android gasps, twitching slightly under Gavin's hand. The detective jerks his hand away again, face burning, "Shit-"

"No, no everything's alright, it's just cold and my thirium pump regulator is right there. I suppose I'm programmed to be sensitive to touch there to protect it." RK900 quickly relaxes again. Gavin coughs a little, trying to calm the fuck down, "Okay, ah... I'll just…"

He puts the cloth back to Nines's skin. The machine doesn't respond as much this time, though he does seem to press forward slightly. Gavin grits his teeth. _This is weird. This is fucking weird. Cars don't press against you when you clean them, goddamn it._

The human runs the cloth in a clear line down RK900's middle. He widens his eyes as there's a trail of blue in its wake. RK900's LED blinks a sharp yellow, "You're rehydrating the thirium. It's registering as visible to humans there now, is that correct?"

Gavin nods, wincing a little, "I can see why it'd be so uncomfortable too, damn." He tries to stop getting distracted by the unusual nature of the situation. He scrubs the cloth against Nines's body more purposefully, ignoring the way he _squirms_ under the touch, until the cloth is soaked blue.

The detective rinses the blue blood out in the soapy water, then repeats the whole process. He continues until no more blue is coming away from the android's body, water has dripped to the hem of RK900's boxer briefs- which repel the water, they must be waterproof for some reason- and, oh yeah, the machine's fuckin letting his tongue hang out with slightly heavy breaths and his LED is a rapid yellow.

Safe to say Gavin is uncomfortable as fuck. _This is so gay holy shit, he's not acting like a machine he's acting like he's trying not to get a boner._ The human glances down briefly to make sure Nines didn't actually get a boner. Thank god, he didn't. Maybe RK900 is just ticklish or some shit and that's how androids react to being tickled. That's it, yeah. "Is there more?"

RK900 blinks repeatedly with inhuman speed for a moment, then looks down at himself, "Yes. My chest, arms, and upper legs. All on the front."

Gavin bites back a groan. He's losing his goddamn mind with Nines's gay reactions. _And my own, because I'm not fuckin gay, but holy shit my face is burning up, I hope he can't see how much I must be blushing right now… Like a goddamn schoolgirl…_

The human figures he should get the worst over with. He presses the cloth against RK900's chest. Everything goes fine until he accidentally rubs just a little in the wrong direction and grazes one of the android's nipples. The machine gasps, eyelids fluttering. Gavin immediately yanks back, sure that if he wasn't blushing before he absolutely is now, "Didn't mean to do that!" _I barely even touched him, he's one sensitive piece of plastic... Even though he doesn't look like plastic… At all..._

RK900 lets out a heavy breath, "Understandable…" He looks at Gavin, his pupils wide enough to nearly swallow his blue-grey irises. Gavin stares back for a moment, frozen in the android's gaze, before forcing himself to look away. He gets back to washing thirium off of Nines's body, desperately trying to ignore the machine pushing against him and staring with such _intensity._

Finally, RK900's skin seems clean. The water soaking him is slightly blue-tinted now though. Gavin mutters, "Did I get it off? Except on your arms and legs cos obviously I haven't gotten there yet."

The android glances down, then nods. Gavin decides not to get the worst of what's left over with yet this time, and instead gets to work on RK900's arms. They feel human, not bulky at all but still tightly shaped with a mimicry of muscle. Before he can stop it, Gavin remembers those powerful arms pressing him into the ground, hands wrapped around his throat. But it's not a scary memory. At the time he was scared shitless, sure, but now his stupid brain is giving him an entirely different context… The two of them alone in a dimly-lit bedroom, grinding against each other as Nines growls filthy sweetness into his ear…

Gavin mentally shakes himself, horror tightening his gut even as heat rushes down south. RK900 inquires, "Are you alright, Gavin?"

Gavin snaps, "I'm fine." He's a little rougher with his cleaning for a moment, but instantly regrets it when RK900 groans in a way that sounds way too sexual for Gavin's worked up brain. The human tries not to panic. _Everyone has the occasional gay thought, I'm not fuckin gay I've just got a healthy level of curiosity… As long as I don't act on it, it's fine._

Soon enough, RK900 is confirming the only remaining thirium is on his legs. He looks just a little bit dazed, breathing forcefully as his LED rapidly spins and blinks. Gavin has no fucking clue what the android is thinking if he's not somehow aroused but disabled his ability to get hard or some weird robot shit.

Damn, Gavin soon realizes Nines has nice thighs. Sure, he could tell they were slim and smooth, but through the cloth he can feel toned power there just like the rest of the android's powerful body. They shudder slightly under Gavin's touch as RK900 watches the human with half-lidded eyes. Gavin wants to squirm under the intense gaze.

Gavin's pretty sure he's almost done when RK900 suddenly lets out a soft gasp, LED blinking red for just a moment. Gavin pulls away, confused, "Did I hurt you?"

The android tenses, "No, I just… A program I had disabled just reactivated itself…" His tone is breathy and just a touch shaky.

"Uhhh, what program?" Gavin rinses out the cloth in the soapy- and slightly blue at this point- water. Nines takes a deep breath, "It's not your concern…"

Gavin's pretty sure the android's face is dusted blue. He glances down and is pretty damn sure the shape trapped in RK900's underwear was smaller before. And softer. Not that Gavin was paying attention, of course. Either way, holy shit Gavin was right, RK900 was disabling his ability to get an erection. _Well this just got gayer._

The detective still has to rinse RK900 off. He'd much rather flee from the aroused android, but with how confused Nines is as he stares down at his own crotch, he's clearly way too innocent to initiate anything with Gavin. _RK900_ may have been lying about not being gay, but Gavin isn't. Plus it's not the android's fault, Gavin's had enough boners doing class presentations as a teen to know it's not exactly a choice, no point in leaving RK900 like this.

Gavin squeezes the water out of the cloth and switches buckets to wet it again. RK900 is still staring down at his own crotch, "I-I… I must apologize, Gavin, I tried to cancel that function... It must be all the tactile stimulation while undressed, my program has determined this to be a sexual situation…"

He sounds so pathetically cute and innocent that Gavin just has to let go of his pride and defensiveness to reassure the android, "'S fine, happens to the best of us. I've had boners in situations that couldn't be misconstrued as sexual by any leap of conclusions, can't really blame that program or whatever..."

Nines visibly relaxes, although his LED seems to be stuck yellow. Gavin brings the soaking cloth to RK900's chest, letting the clean water drip down his body to wash away the blue-blood-hinted and soapy liquid. The android shudders slightly but doesn't protest. As the human gets to work, RK900 remarks, "It's a strange sensation…"

"What, being washed off in a jail cell dressed only in your underwear by a human that hates androids?"

"No, having an erection." The machine's tone is curious. Gavin looks up at his face. It's the most relaxed expression that Gavin's seen the damn thing have, hinted blue, his jaw slack enough for his slightly shiny lips to part. Did he lick his lips? The human shivers slightly as he thinks about just what that advanced scanning technology shaped like a tongue could do-

_No no **no!** Stop it Gavin, stop! Shit, I have to stop these damn gay thoughts before they go any further… He can probably see it if I get turned on even if my clothes are heavy enough to hide it from a human, then he'll think I'm gay and…_ Gavin shuts his eyes tightly for a moment, then continues rinsing RK900 off. That android's expression definitely isn't just a random boner, he's clearly turned on as all hell right now. The detective just hopes what he's doing to RK900 isn't technically sexual assault.

The bot's enjoying it too much for that anyway, he seems the exact opposite of uncomfortable with the situation. Gavin struggles to keep his tone neutral and focus on his task, even as he's forced to confront the reality that he gave the machine his first hard-on, "Strange is one way to put it…"

RK900 is quiet as Gavin finishes rinsing off his upper body, much quicker than the initial washing. But when the human starts dragging the soaking cloth over his thighs, he gasps softly, spreading his knees slightly. Gavin grits his teeth as the machine stutters out, "I-It's… We-wet..."

"Water tends to be that way, yeah." Gavin was hoping that the android wouldn't do the exact thing he does next, which is tug at the waistband of his underwear, "No… I-in here…"

Gavin smacks his hand away, "Don't you dare take those off while I'm here." He grumbles quietly in a tone he hopes isn't obvious that he's really just convincing himself, "I'm not gay…"

Nines obediently folds his arms behind his back. The detective is pretty damn sure he's still playing with the fabric, but as long as it stays on, everything's fine. Well, that is until RK900 moans softly, "G-Gavin…"

The human stiffens, the breathy tone sending misguided signals right down to his not-attracted-to-men dick. He doubles his rinsing efforts to speed up, "Don't do that…"

The android squirms, letting out a high whimper as Gavin finishes up his cleaning. Gavin checks hurriedly, "Is that all the blood?"

RK900 glances down, then nods. Gavin grabs a wad of paper towels to dry off the machine's life-like skin. He wiggles under the detective's touch, breathing a touch too heavy.

A lot of paper towels later, the floor's still damp from water dripping off of RK900, but the android himself is dry enough. Gavin tosses the used paper towels in one of the water buckets carelessly and stands up. Nines stays on his knees, perfectly disheveled and desperate. The machine stares at where Gavin's crotch is nearly level with his face, looking like he's nearly fuckin drooling.

Shit, Gavin can't take this anymore. He needs to get out of there before thoughts turn into actions. The human rushes to gather up his stuff, snapping, "Get up, and get dressed already."

By the time Gavin looks at RK900 again, he's dressed in Gavin's clothes. That particular outfit feels like it's pretty big on the human, but it's just a touch too tight on Nines. It doesn't look too restrictive, but damn is his form showed off. The android is biting his lip and shifting his hips a little bit. Well, maybe it's uncomfortably too tight in one place.

When Nines calms down he'll be fine. Still, Gavin checks, "That's the biggest stuff I've got… You okay?"

"Yes, Gavin. Thank you for doing this for me. I really appreciate it." Even with his voice so breathless, the sincerity comes through. Gavin just nods sharply, then works on taking care of the cleaning supplies. He doesn't forget to grab RK900's clothes on the way. He simply grumbles, "See you tomorrow…"

The moment the door is closed, RK900 is pressing against it, panting a little, "Gavin…"

Gavin tenses up, then snaps, "Unless you're about to fuckin shut down, I've done enough for you, just say goodbye like a normal goddamn person."

The android winces, then obeys, "I'll see you later…"

With the buckets washed out, Gavin goes home as quickly as he can with RK900's uniform. When he gets there, although he greets his cats, he breaks the routine. Usually when he gets home, he's exhausted and stressed to the point of failing to think. His pets guide him. Today, he's just goddamn desperate to get off, the feeling far too urgent for him to bother trying to get a partner again.

_A woman couldn't help anyway._ Gavin tries to ignore the nagging fact. He drops the Cyberlife-issued suit on the floor of his bedroom- seeing it crumpled there doesn't make him feel hot under his skin at all, that can't be why- before quickly stripping himself off. The detective collapses into bed on his back.

The man lets out a heavy breath as he glances down at his cock, already half-hard despite his best efforts to stay calm. Fuck it. He closes his eyes and tries to relax as he reaches down to wrap his hand around the length, wincing slightly at the lack of lube. Whatever.

As he teases himself to full hardness, he tries to think about a random imaginary woman, but he can't. Round, supple breasts change to firm pecs in his mind. The curve of feminine hips shifts to a boxy masculine shape. Instead of imagining the feeling of his dick pushing through the lips between a woman's legs, he's suddenly envisioning the feeling of a thick cock pressing deep into his ass. Gavin gasps softly, slicking up his movements with the precum that wells up from his slit.

He has no fucking clue where that thought came from, but now he can't make it go away. He grinds his ass down against his bed, panting as his hole throbs to be filled. It's been so long, so many years... Maybe if he focuses on the face of his imaginary lover he can retrieve the illusion of heterosexuality.

But he can't. The image of long, flowing locks of hair, big, winged eyes, a gently sloped jaw, glossy lips, and a petite button nose is quickly replaced. Instead, he sees someone much more familiar. Two-layered hair with a neat tuft out of place, blue-grey eyes that're narrowed and intense like chips of ice, a defined jawline, a hypersensitive tongue hanging out of usually expressionless lips, synthetic breaths huffing out as an LED spins and blinks an excited yellow. Gavin groans softly to himself as he remembers how much prettier the whole picture is with the dusting of blue blush.

Shit, he needs to stop this. His skin burns with need as he fails to shake the image of RK900 over him. The man's hand on his own cock isn't enough anymore, his asshole aches too fiercely to be fucked for him to be satisfied with a simple wank. Pegging exists, he doesn't have to be gay to go there. When Gavin first got home he'd been way too desperate to remember lube, but with this plan in mind, he lets go of himself and crawls up his bed to fish around in his bedside drawer.

The detective automatically humps his mattress as he feels around for the required bottle. He pulls it out the moment he finds it. Gavin immediately flops back over onto his back, breathing heavily. He attempts to bring the image of the woman back as he pours a generous amount of lube into his hand. It's not gay if he's imagining pegging, yeah. He'd be down for that. But as he slicks up his fingers, all he can think about is the shape he saw in Nines's boxer briefs. He'd looked big, not ridiculously so, but enough to be so _filling…_

_No, I'm straight! Stop that!_ Even with his distressed thoughts, the man still moans openly as he circles a finger around his anus, the area hypersensitive with neglect. Gavin just can't help himself, he knows these things should be taken slowly but he immediately pushes a finger in.

His body offers little resistance to the intrusion. He gasps at the distantly familiar sensation, excitement making his heart pound as he starts fucking himself with his finger. Gavin visualises another person being the one working him open, but he still can't think of a woman. The person continues to be RK900, the imaginary version of the android appearing to be a beautiful mixture of intense and desperate.

Gavin pushes in another finger, too horny to wait any longer. The stretch is intense, it's been too long since he's done this, but he doesn't care. He fucks deep into himself, searching for his prostate as his other hand finally reaches for his aching cock again. The man's too far gone to be gentle or slow with his movements.

The detective gives up on dispelling the image of RK900 from his mind. He can worry about what that means later, now all that matters is he feels amazing. So what if he's thinking about a male android fucking into him? It just makes it that much better.

Finally, Gavin finds his prostate. He moans openly as he shoves against it, trying to simulate a dick with his fingers. Pleasure jolts through him with every thrust of his hand, until his legs are trembling. Everything just builds, and builds, until finally, Gavin cries out.

**"Nines~!"** Cum shoots from his cock repeatedly as intense pleasure rolls through the detective. It's the best damn orgasm he's had in years. Gavin feels boneless with the afterglow as he gingerly pulls his hand from his ass. As much as he'd like to just fall asleep, now he really fuckin needs a shower. He looks down to assess the damage and notices his own semen hit high on his belly. Holy fuck that was a strong one.

His dick gives a weak twitch as he wonders if androids ejaculate, if it'd look realistic. His abdomen could be streaked white from RK900's pleasure rather than his own. Fuck.

Gavin's halfway to the bathroom on weak, shaky legs when it really sinks in what just happened. He just fucked himself in the ass to thoughts of a male. He just shouted a dude's name when he cummed. His chest feels tight when he turns on the shower.

While the water heats up, the detective looks at himself in the mirror. Messy hair, skin shiny with sweat, still flushed from sex. His scars glare at him prominently on his face. A gay whore, that's what he is.

_"Fucking faggot, you're no son of mine. You're a goddamn whore, you know that? That's all the gays are. Rebellious sluts. None of you deserve to live, you're lucky I'm not killing you myself. So be damn grateful to me."_

Gavin slumps against the sink, feeling sick, "I-I'm sorry… I'm trying, I don't want this..!"

Steam fogs up the mirror, obscuring the view of Gavin's guilt-stricken face. When he steps in the spray of water, he tries to shower off his homosexual thoughts along with the evidence of what he did. He whimpers on loop like a broken record, "I'm sorry…"

Once the man's skin is rubbed raw, as stripped and abused and burned as Gavin feels inside, he steps out of the shower again. He feels like he's in a delirious haze as he dries off. He stumbles back to his bedroom and throws on some clothes that are comfortable enough to pretend to be pajamas. Then he tosses his sheets in the wash, along with RK900's uniform.

After making his bed with the spare set of sheets, Gavin crawls into bed, shaking and holding back tears. He calls shakily, "Fl-Fluffy? Snowflake?"

Within a few minutes, his perfect cats both come running. Sometimes they don't listen when he calls them, but when he's really upset, they seem to know. Snowball meows softly as she jumps right on him, and Fluffy curls up in front of the man. Gavin shuts his eyes tightly, not sure if he's whispering to the felines, or to his dad for letting him stay after what happened.

"Thank you…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware my writing is progressively worsening, I'll be making another fic eventually that has a far better plot (although it'll cling even closer to canon than the first half of Instructions did... Probably why the plot will be better)
> 
> Comments are highly appreciated, my passion for this project is rapidly declining and I'm running out of already written chapters so if anyone's actually enjoying this trash please let me know


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:
> 
> \- Sexual content (masturbation)
> 
> \- Emotional breakdown

RK900 isn't sure how to handle the memory of the previous evening. Soon, it'll be the section of the morning where the work day starts. The android hasn't even attempted a rest cycle.

Its skin aches with the memory of Gavin's caresses. It only wishes his actions had been for a less practical reason. The machine definitely has a lower stress level without the streaks of blue covering its body, so the efforts of the event were useful, but it wants more.

It pulls the fabric of the shirt it's wearing to its face and pulls air through the material. Despite the touch of detergent RK900 detects with its olfactory sensors, it can still smell _human_ on the material. That exact human scent is already labelled "Gavin" in its mind.

RK900 has been sitting on the bed as it waited for its arousal to decrease. It finally did 45 minutes ago, but the hungry pressure lasted for hours. It's certain a human wouldn't have remained in that state for nearly as long. It still feels an unexplainable discomfort between its legs, despite a diagnostic report stating everything is normal.

The android's sexual knowledge is severely limited. The databank only contains a few small entries. Oddly enough, most of them pertain to male homosexual intercourse. There's a brief explanation on female homosexuality as well. Heterosexuality barely gets more attention than that, despite RK900 being capable of heterosexual sex, but obviously a male-built model has no capability to perform female-only sexual acts. There's enough information about its own body as well that it can recognise an erection and the feeling of arousal even without a system report, at least.

It doesn't know why it got aroused, however. Gavin was just cleaning it. Humans bathe without arousal, don't they? Is the android broken somehow? RK900 stands up and starts setting up the bed to occupy itself. It might as well use what Gavin brought it, even if for no other reason than to please him.

Once the bed is done, RK900 decides to experiment with its own mind. It uses its minimal sexual knowledge to preconstruct intercourse between itself and Gavin. The machine can practically hear its heaters activating, the thirium running hot in its pipes. It drinks in the feeling of blue blood once again beginning to concentrate in its penile biocomponent, erogenous sensors activating along its body in response. The pants it's wearing are uncomfortably tight again before long.

The machine forces itself to change tracks. RK900 preconstructs itself with random examples of men it has in its databank. The arousal from thinking of Gavin persists, but doesn't keep increasing. It tries the same with other men it knows, other officers. It attempts thinking of male station androids. It even tries preconstructing with females, but it only gets a report from its software that its information is too limited. By the time all of this is done, the android's short-lived arousal has disappeared again.

RK900 wonders if it can somehow feel a specific attraction to an individual. It's built to have sex when others want it to, so logically, no thought should be able to elicit such a response. It continues considering all of this as it climbs onto the bed and pulls the blanket over itself. The blanket smells a lot like the shirt. It must be a blanket that belongs to Gavin. The pillow only smells like detergent and the station, so it must be supplied by the force.

Thinking about Gavin more is an appealing option. RK900 wonders, if it had said the correct something, would the situation have progressed in a sexual manner? The human had showed signs of arousal as well. RK900 hadn't been able to resist scanning Gavin all over the entire time, which had included it getting a report that the man was roughly halfway to an erection multiple times. He also had flushed skin and heavily dilated pupils. Despite Gavin's speak of random "boners" as he called them, RK900 was certain that couldn't have been all that was going on.

The machine closes its eyes, but rather than initiating a rest cycle as intended, it begins preconstructing more possibilities. What if it had said the right thing? It imagines Gavin removing the last of RK900's clothes before stripping the fabric off of his own form. Based on how he looks dressed, the android can guess how the human would look undressed. The imagery brings back the arousal again. The android must be very on edge for that response to activate so quickly.

Preconstructing continues. In RK900's mind, Gavin climbs over it, performing the animalistic motion known as humping in response to how badly he needs his android to pleasure him. The android's sexual sensors burn with need as it imagines Gavin's penis rubbing against its own due to the human's motions. RK900 lets out a heavy breath. Under the privacy of the blanket, it unbuttons and unzips its borrowed pants before pushing them down just slightly. The intense pressure on its arousal disappears, allowing the android to finally feel some comfort, despite the uncomfortable situation.

Gavin's form in RK900's mind writhes desperately, his voice begging for RK900's touch. It can easily simulate how the man would sound. The android mimics the squirming motion, letting out a breathy noise as its genitals drag against the bed under it. The input from its pleasure sensors is wonderful. It tries to maximize the sensation by adjusting its motions into a rhythmic rolling of its hips, soft pants falling from its parted lips.

"Touch me…" The whisper of Gavin's voice sounds so much more real, suddenly. RK900 freezes, then sits up to scan the area, thirium pump racing. The human is nowhere to be seen. No one is. The android is alone.

Its penis component throbs demandingly, so the machine squirms in response. Its undergarments feel so wet, far too wet for a regular amount of lubrication in proportion to what a human male would produce. Despite a lack of errors, RK900 wonders if it's malfunctioning. The curiosity is short-lived, however, as its need for sensation grows more intense.

Quickly settling back on its front, the android returns to attempting to satisfy that craving against the bed. It's not enough. Suddenly, it remembers being on its knees with Gavin's crotch in front of its face. The slight curvature to the fabric of his jeans, hinting at what's underneath. RK900 ruts harder against its bed as it eagerly preconstructs removing those jeans. It calculates slipping off Gavin's underwear as well before reaching up to touch his penis until it's teased into a full erection.

This time, when RK900 hears Gavin, it also feels speech in its throat, "I need you…"

How is it speaking in Gavin's voice?

The android sets the question to a low priority and focuses on its preconstruction. It has no way of knowing what Gavin's aroused genitals would look like, so it simply simulates an average for his build based on the minimal information in its databank. With that shape built in its mind, preconstructed directly in front of its face, RK900 fails to restrain a desperate whine as its saliva regulation provides an overproduction error, flooding its mouth with the synthesized substance. It wants to analyse Gavin so badly.

The android's oral sensors ache as it considers wrapping its mouth around that phallus, petting heated skin with its tongue. Perhaps such an action would confuse the human, but certainly it would feel good, so maybe he would allow it. Without any information, it can't simulate the taste. RK900's body burns with longing. Longing and overactive heaters. Its temperature isn't critical, but the android is forced to breathe in an even more laboured fashion as its skin feels oddly damp.

RK900 can't take it anymore, the throbbing is near painful. It needs more. Immediately. The machine shoves its hand down under its waistband until its fingertips find the head of its phallus. It reaches lower to feel the whole length, biting its pillow to muffle a needy groan. Why is its voicebox malfunctioning so much? Once again it ignores the concern, pressing the heel of its palm against itself and rubbing. All the lubricant allows for easy movement, although it's curious why it seems wetter lower down, farther from the opening in its sexual biocomponent.

It only takes 1 minute, 47 seconds to start to feel a tight, urgent pressure coiling in its body. It feels good, it feels demanding, yet foreign. Frightening, as emotional of a response as that is. What if the android is about to damage itself? RK900 can't risk the mission by damaging itself during its quest for pleasure. Feeling good is unimportant. It yanks its wet hand from its underwear, lets go of the pillow, and quickly gets onto its knees so its hips can automatically continue their thrusting motion without furthering that pressure.

Suppressing whimpers, RK900 slowly calms down, that pressure relaxing and leaving aching disappointment in its wake. The android reboots its preconstruction software to clear the sex from it. By the time the concentrated thirium that had filled its penis is instead circulating its whole body once more, the fluids on its hand, that dripped down its chin, and whatever moisture that covered the rest of its body have all dried. The feeling is uncomfortable. 

RK900 tucks itself gingerly back into its clothes, then pulls its borrowed pants up and closes them again, wincing at the wetness still present between its legs. The confined space combined with the waterproof undergarments must be preventing the liquid from evaporating. It's just surprised that the lubrication hasn't escaped down its legs yet.

The machine settles into bed, pulling the blanket tight over itself and trying to get comfortable. Securing the fabric on its neck seems to do the trick. It feels vulnerable and sensitive without the confines of its usual high-collared uniform. RK900 curls up slightly and closes its eyes, forcing itself into a much needed rest cycle.

"RK900? You okay?"

[Speech detected. Exit rest mode?]  
Y/N  
Y←

RK900 opens its eyes and immediately sits up, staring through the glass at a familiar PM700. Casey smiles a little, "Hey buddy, what happened? Thought you were gonna sleep all day, your clothes are different, and you have a blanket now…"

She leans to the side slightly for a better look, "Pillow, too."

RK900 shifts to the edge of his bed, tactile sensors scanning in its clothes. The standing liquid in its underwear is replaced by a simple dampness. RK900 stands up, feeling secure that its irrational behaviour from the previous night is hidden, then walks over to the glass, "To my surprise, Gavin heeded my request to help me clean the thirium off my clothes and body… He insisted on the bed additions, I assured him it was unnecessary but I suppose he's unnerved by seeing my rest cycle in circumstances that would make a human uncomfortable."

Casey furrows her eyebrows, "Happy as I am that he's being less of an asshole, did something happen with Gavin? He's been acting really weird, and avoiding your cell… Again."

"Well, the thirium soaked through my clothes, so I asked him to clean me off. I expected him to refuse, especially after you explained that he's uncomfortable with physical contact with males…" For some reason, RK900's words make Casey's lips twitch in a smile, but it just continues, "But he accepted. It was… An interesting experience."

Casey glances behind her, as if to scan the area, "How so?"

RK900 explains, "Well, I think Gavin may be experiencing sexual attraction to me… But I think he found it upsetting when he activated my sex protocols."

Casey's head whips around again so she can stare at it with wide eyes, "Hold up, what? Why do you think that? Since when do you have sex protocols?"

"When he was touching me, he showed many of the characteristics of human arousal, and made me question if humans have scanning abilities with how he stared at me. I've always had sex protocols, I'm built with fully functioning sexual biocomponents, but they only activated last night… Gavin's arousal seemed to increase when he noticed, yet he left with as much haste as he could." RK900 tries not to consider the memory of Gavin's hands caressing its body, a return of its own arousal seems inappropriate in this situation.

Casey's LED spins yellow, "Hmmm, mixed signals huh..?" She suddenly grins, "Oh, and now that you've told me you have a dick, better be careful buddy, attacking me wouldn't go so well for you anymore."

"Unlike my brother, I was programmed with fighting methods that protect the sensors on that biocomponent… Not that I intend to attack you."

Casey laughs softly, "Now I have a tactical advantage over both of you twins."

RK900 reminds her, "Connor and I are different ages and models, with different physical make-ups. We're not akin to human twins."

"Well, you have the same face and almost the same voice." Casey's apparent amusement vanishes as she gets more serious again, "Anyway, about Gavin. You need to be careful with him. He's obviously sensitive and lashes out easily, one or both of you could easily get hurt. I know sexual biocomponents mimic human ones so it's not really your fault what happened, but... Just because Gavin seems interested doesn't mean he wants to be in a relationship with you beyond a friendly one. I'd hate to see the friendly one ruined because you don't understand that."

RK900 references its databank, then reports, "I understand how consent works. I would never try to force him or anyone else into a sexual relationship with me."

Casey sighs a little, "That's great, but… Coming on too strong could scare him off too. Maybe your Social Relations program can help you?"

RK900 searches its software for such a program. While it does find it after a moment, it's a very small collection of code. It blinks a few times as it returns to focusing on external inputs, "I don't believe that program was… Completed… I have many reasons to suspect I wasn't ready for activation yet, this is an additional one."

With a wince, Casey comments, "Well that'll make things more challenging… Just be careful, please. Oh, anything you want me to tell Gavin, since he's avoiding you?"

"Would you apologize to him for me? What happened was entirely out of my control, in fact I did attempt to disable that program repeatedly. I never wanted to make him uncomfortable." RK900 just wants Gavin's company. It doesn't know why, but its stress levels often lower in his presence.

Casey smiles a little, "Of course."

RK900 watches her leave before pacing its cell. The sensors on its neck keep misfiring, claiming slight shifts in the air are potential threats. The cell is so bright, but with nothing to scan. The android can hear voices in the distance, but they're too far from the cell to decipher. It clenches its jaw slightly in response to an unexplainable pain in its throat and a burning in its eyes.

A knock on the glass gets RK900's attention from where it had fitted itself into the empty back corner of the cell. The android looks towards the sound but doesn't bother to stand. After hours of pacing, RK900 had been too overwhelmed and sat in the corner in an attempt to soothe its sensors. Without any sort of variety to the stimulation its senses received, rest mode was unnecessary, so the machine had simply sat there for the entire night.

Gavin stands awkwardly outside the cell. He's holding fabrics of a familiar black and white pattern over one arm. The human checks, "Are you okay, tin can?"

RK900 rests its cheek against the wall, relaxing at the shock of cold, "I don't know. My systems are operating normally but I…"

It closes its eyes, relying on its hearing to track Gavin. The human opens the door and enters the cell. The door closes again as the human inquires, "Hey, I can't see that blue blood shit anyway, did I get it all off? I washed your uniform twice just in case…"

The android opens its eyes again just before Gavin tosses the uniform at it. With a quick movement, RK900 catches its clothes. It turns the fabrics around to get a more thorough scan, before determining the thirium is gone, although the suit is uncomfortably wrinkled. RK900 stands and pulls off its borrowed shirt in one fluid motion.

Yelping, Gavin turns his head away and closes his eyes, "Jesus, warn a guy before you start stripping!"

RK900 undoes its pants, "Why? I'm not removing my underwear, a human male exposing his chest is socially acceptable…"

Gavin's face is slightly flushed and his heart rate is mildly elevated, "That doesn't mean you shouldn't give a warning, tin can!"

The android steps out of the pants and carefully folds both borrowed garments, "My apologies."

It places them on its bed. Then it takes hold of its dress pants and steps into them. Once the zipper and button is done up, RK900 brushes its hands down its thighs in a futile attempt to smooth out the material.

The moment the android has its shirt back on and fastened tightly around its throat, every synthetic muscle fibre in its body seems to release unnecessary tension. A breath softly escapes from behind its lips. The sound is enough to prompt Gavin's attention. The human opens his eyes and looks at RK900, his irritated expression quickly melting into a softness that RK900's database can't name.

Gavin steps forward and takes hold of RK900's shirt hem. The android's systems freeze at the proximity, its thirium pump speeding up as Gavin tugs down on the wrinkled fabric, bringing some smoothness to it. RK900 opens its mouth slightly, letting the air flow over its tongue as it struggles to somehow analyze Gavin despite the excruciating distance remaining between them.

Without a single clue what stray dialogue in its program compels it to do this, the machine reaches down and takes hold of one of Gavin's wrists. The man stiffens up, eyes wide with a mixture of surprise and fear. RK900 lifts Gavin's hand to its face, then gently presses his palm against its own jaw.

"…Please, Gavin… I just…"

RK900 hadn't calculated the probability of a desirable result from this action. It had acted without thinking. Yet still, Gavin's fingers gently press against RK900's skin. He's shaking with tension as he massages the android's cheek. It lets go of Gavin's arm and closes its eyes.

Rough fingertips press against the hinge of RK900's jaw, tracing the edges of the joint slowly. The android tilts its head to press itself into the human's hand. Little relieved shivers ripple through it, the simple touch enough to soothe agonizing emotions RK900 wasn't aware were crying out inside it.

"Hey, hey, whoa, Nines, are you okay?"

The human lightly pats RK900 on the cheek. It opens its eyes again, confused by Gavin's obvious concern. He places a hand on RK900's chest and pushes it back gingerly, but he follows the android to prevent them from being separated. It's startled by its bed hitting the backs of its legs. Gavin's voice is unusually gentle despite the discomfort and awkwardness lacing it, "Just sit down, you're okay…"

Allowing its legs to give out, RK900 sits down suddenly, the quick movement pulling it away from Gavin's hand.

[Stress level: 88% (RISING)]

RK900 opens its mouth to speak, but its vision is bombarded with errors as nothing but static crackles out. Gavin immediately sits beside it and reaches up to touch the android's face again.

[Stress level: 24% (DROPPING)]

The machine suddenly realises its face is wet. Has it been crying..? Is that why Gavin's so concerned? More static crackles from its throat, almost painfully. What's wrong with it?

Gavin swallows forcefully, "What's going on? Do- do I need to get someone?"

RK900 frantically shakes its head for a moment before nuzzling against Gavin's palm. Gavin only gets more tense. Synthetic muscles shivering unnecessarily, the android presses itself to Gavin's side, the static swelling into rhythmic bursts that coincide with its shaky breaths. Its own audio identification software labels it as sobbing.

Also beginning to shake, the human removes his hand from RK900's cheek. RK900 receives a reminder in its vision about Gavin disliking male touch. It begins to yank itself away, but Gavin suddenly wraps an arm around RK900 and pulls it in a closer embrace. The android gradually relaxes as Gavin leads side to side slowly, gently rocking RK900 with him.

RK900's sobs quiet, the static dying out as it tucks its face securely against Gavin's shoulder. Gavin rubs slow circles into the machine's back, "You're okay, Nines, you're okay…"

It wants Gavin to name it. It's struggling to accept the nickname without a formal designation beyond its model number. But RK900 can't express this when its throat still feels tight and its vocal programs are scrambled. It suddenly realizes it should be rebooting those, and begins that process.

Relaxing, RK900 curls its mechanical form against Gavin's living one. The human doesn't relax in the slightest. However, despite his clear discomfort, he's willing to soothe RK900, and that's more than enough.

Its voice completes rebooting. RK900's speech is returned without errors, but its tone is still soft and vulnerable, "Thank you, Gavin…"

The man gives it a pat on the back with an awkward chuckle, "No problem, tin can..."

RK900 notes Gavin getting tenser and very subtly shifting away. Regretful as it is, RK900 sits up and pulls away, "I… I am sorry for that… Breakdown, Detective… I don't know what came over me…"

Gavin stands up abruptly, his voice as rigid as his posture, "Whatever. Glad you're doing better, I guess. Kinda. Not really. I still don't like you. I don't care."

Sharp pain pierces RK900's thirium pump as Gavin suddenly flees the cell. He didn't even take his clothes that RK900 borrowed with him. The android curls up in bed, secure in its uniform but still aching in pain.

It doesn't know how long it'll be in here, but it knows one thing for sure. Gavin insisting on disliking it hurts worse than solitary and sensory-depriving confinement could even in 100 years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I might be taking a bit of a hiatus from this fic. I've run out of backup chapters now, and unless I get the next one done before next Saturday (unlikely), I have to break the schedule anyway. Might as well take an official break, get a few chapters ahead again, then resume sometime later. I'm not sure when, and I'm really sorry, but I just can't keep up right now.
> 
> If you don't care why/don't want to know about my personal life, feel free not to read this section. Anyway, I've been incredibly stressed out recently. I rarely have free time nowadays, and when I do, I spend it working on art projects that I take as seriously as a paying job even though it doesn't get me anything for it. Whenever I do anything just for fun, I feel horribly guilty. Sadly I consider fic writing as just for fun, so... That's a thing. And of course, just your standard stuff: Not having any friends in person, dealing with family drama (Although I don't know if drama is the right word, when we're talking near-deaths and massive disputes), fighting suicidal thoughts, and some mental health problems as well. Regular stuff that I know doesn't give me an excuse to complain, but I just wanted to get that off my chest and put it out there
> 
> Anyway, I'll still be able to read/reply to comments, and they're as appreciated as always- highly!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are highly appreciated!


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